The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 1, 1904, Page 8

, 10300 -knots 3. This is the &« speed cldes d for the -British? has - be Hunter n! & ting 2,000 coal | Brit- in a o a job is firiished in th e workman is entitled to \ hours.” If his weekly to 89 his extra pay is hours give ty-six hou nine “pre earnings " thus increased by a bonus of-$1-68. The time allowance for a job incjudes ob- ning tools and material, preparing machine g work in or. on the m »f tools and re- This premium svstem is first to be tried in -the ma- chige shops, and if found ‘to work ad- vamtageously to both parties will be ex- tended to other operations in the yards The armored cruiser Devonshire, 10,- | tons, 21,000 horsepower, was laid wn at Chatham dockyard March 25, | and is to be launched April 30. I « are being made to have the ship completed within three years after ‘the keel was laid One marked point of advantage which two recently purchased’ Chilean ships possess is their height of plate form as compared with other ps of tk The Triumph and Swiftsur ; have been named bought ngland, carry - their guns twenty-five feet above water., whith is the same -height as in _the Jatest class of British battleships. The after barbette guns are one foot highe than in the King Bdward VII -class he fourteen seven and a half inch guns broadside, throwing a 200-pound. shell, are placed five and a half inches higher than the ten six-inch broadside guns, firing 100-pound -shells, in~ the King Edward class. > S moving con 700 t class s th since The French armored cruiser Gloire ! has succeeded in steaming-21.3 knots' with 21,400 horsepower under ‘forced draught. Under natural draught the epeed was 19.3 knots, with 14,400 horse- power. The recomstructed battleship Marceau, built in 1887, in her recent trial under forced draught. The mew armored cruiser | Conde, 10,000 tons, calculated to s\oam‘ 21 knots under full power, reached only. | 16.4 knots with 13,500 horsepower under natural draught, 9 knots less than ker sister ship, s . The French cruiser ‘Leon Gambetta, 12,416 tor 006 horsepower | and a calculated speed of 22 to grief on March 1 while going through her thirty-six hours’ steam trial -near| Brest. The ship ran on the “black | yocks,” causing a serious leak .ard twisting her propeller shafts, necessi: tating returning to the dockyard. The Belier, French torpedo-boat de-! stroyer, has made an unusually suc- cesgtul steam trial. The average speed | during four hours was 28.5 knots, going | a8 high as 30.2 and never falling below 25 knots. The comtract guaranteed zs'l knots. Germany is not taking much interest | in submarine boats. In 1880 two Ner- denfeldt boats were built at Kiel and Dantzig, but are useless at present. ln\ 1902 another boat was built with indif- ferent result, and at the present ume‘ two are building at Kiel, both on a modified plan of the Holland boats | bullt for the United States navy. A general staff has been organi -d in the German navy. Its chief is| Vice Admiral Buchsel, who is to be ed by eleven high rank officers, | commanders and- tyelve commanders. Twenty-six out of this total of forty-five are to be attached fo the headquarters at Berlin. Admiral Tirpitz, German Minister | of Marine, declares that the naval ad- visers of the Government have bu(! small faith in the value of torpedo- | boats as a factor in naval warfare. | The successes of the Japanese were‘ obtained, he contends. under condi- | tions which made a fair test impos- | sible and these successes were acci- dental apd without significance. Ger- | many, he seys, wili go on bulldmg, battleships and cruisers, but will not incur additional expense in increasing her torpedo flotilla. . d The difficuities attending the bulld-[ =z of the drydock at Mare Island have reached such a stage as to com- I pel the Navy Department to cancel cella made 165 knots |- knots, came | | packages g0 to minety Senmutors and which was let July 15, » of completion was !!nll‘-l\\') months, but owing | iral difficulties ang other causes is ibout one-fifth com- Some months a2go the coffer- dam tumbled in and the civil engin- cer reg that for many months no progress has been made by the con- The same firm had its con- for the League Island dryvdock | led after more than two years’ efforts to do the wo! /The dock | ded for in July. 15‘)‘ a can- n of the contract will compel the Navy Department to readvertise for bids or have the work done by the | department of yards and docks. What- ever degision is maile, the dock can- not be completed iwithin iwo years from date u r the most, favorable conditions, making 3 total period of | onstruction of ‘not ;less than seven | for that which rould and shouid | been done in aliout two’ years. contract, about | \ { | sorts tract tract car evidence of the necessity ring some; consistent and rational pay for officers in the navy nas been presented by Civil Engineer He was retired January reason of age, and went on retired list with (e rank of rear Another establ of He made ice and as| the navy was rt of civil engineers | he t at the’ Brooklyn..navy | former duty. When pay | nd Asserson found that e was I & money by this new ar-| rangement -and that he was receiving | only $29167 a. month—the active] duty ¢ of a civil engineer of over wenty years’ service—while his: re- tired pay "as- a ‘rear admiral. was $343 75.a month. for doing . nothing, | making a. sacrifice of $625 a- year. | Mr. Asserson appealed to Congress for relief and.a favorable report has been | made by the Naval Committee. ' It is | one of ‘many.instances. where rank, pay and duty -do. not harmonize and | accounts for the fact that retired of-) ficers are unwilling to -accept active ! duty at a’money crifice. e The charge of mutiny against six- teen -sailors of the U. 8. 8. Nina, sta- i at San Juan, Porto Rico, has smissed and the crew has had Commander W. G. Cutter arrested and held on ‘a charge of illegally depriv- ing the men of their liberty and threatening them with deadly wea- pons. “The story is briefly that the Nina was loaned to the Porto Rico | lighthouse board, arriving at San Juan last December with a crew whose term of “enlistment had nearly ex- pired. The men claim, and so proved before the -eommissioner, that they were induced to sign a paper which they were told by the captain was only a signature for pay, but which proved to- be -an enlistment for one year in| the navy. When the Nina was or- dered to Pensacola the crew refused to'work and were then driven to the naval barracks at the point of bayo- nets and locked up. - A hearing before a United States commissioner brought out the fact that the crew had been |-deceived and Cutter was made to give | $1000 bond for his appearance to an- swer ‘the charges of shanghaiing. Japan's Preparedness. Probably the world has never seen preparations for a- great war carried | on so quietly’ and secretly, -and yet so completely, a8 .is:the -case in.Japan's preparation - to ‘meet Russia.. - During { the past few.:months I have . often called to 'mind an "incident:of somie | cight -yéars ago... I Was standing: in the ‘tower -of -Nagoya: Castle: 1ooking . out’-bier . the. wide plain ‘Surrounding | the barracks.. I could see large squads of cavalry .thanieuvering in.one' direc- | tion; “inanother pliin were infantry: going- through all sorts.of tactics, not simply. ordinary drill, but scaling high walls and performing various @ifficult feats;.in: the. distance another squad were building ‘poritoon bridges, “and, as I cast my éye over the field, alive in all .directions with ‘men’ training, I turn€éd to the Japanese officer stand- ing by my side and remarked: “If.you'| keep on’training as enthusiasticaily as rou will ‘be able.to ‘conquer Rus- &ta by and by.” The officer looked me rup.and-down, as if defiberating wheth- er_he-shiou.d ‘make reply. or not, and -thep ‘answered in even.more laconic Japane€se. than the English- language| pnrmlux “Thit . is what we imend to do.” “Soon nfler the Chinn Japan -~ War, Wwhen Japan entered upai an extensive plan of ‘maval and military -expansion, the: world said, “$he has lost her head Her victory has puffed her up; why doos she’ pot settle:down to commer- cial advanoément and educational ex- pansion, . instead”of wasting her time {smerely on military expansion and go- ing about with a chip on her shoul- der?” Time has.proved the wisdom of her course: - It would seem ‘that Japan saw’ the future course of Russia hen as cleariy as the world. sees it to- day. ‘Had not Japan begun’ then her preparation for the present situation | |she would have found it impossible 0. meet it in the marvelous way that I she is doing. Careful plans for self- defense have been maturing from year | to year, though, of course, the past |vear has seen the work of prepara- tion carried on much more rapidly | than before.—John L. Dearing, in The World To-Day for April. Congressional Seed. Time. There is a seed time and. harvest at Washington, and just now it is largely sced time. Nearly every member of “ongress and every -Senator has his desk piled high with requects for flow- er and vegetable seeds and all sorts of vines.: Mr. Galloway, superintendent of the bureau of plant industry, is just |now a very busy man. Contrary to usual belief the Government doeg not | raise all its own seed on its own farms and experiment stations, but purchases seed by contract. Twelve thousand 15,000 to- 386 Congressmen, - with 100 packages of flower seeds thrown in for good measure. Pink labels indicate the plain, plebeian vegetable seeds, laven- der labels the patrician. flower geeds and a third color for the nursery plants and vines. ‘ T CO NTROLLING THE FDOODS. country where the water levels of the Sacramento: and San Joaguin and other smaller rivers meet makes an acute issue of flood control. lands, whether ‘isiands or on the ‘mainland, have been protected for development by levees.. These, except. .in some cases on the south side of the ‘San Juaqum, have proved inadequate and great loss has resulted. The drainage of the Sacramento has overflowed into that: of the San Joaquin, and the greater and:lesset floods h upited in a mission of destruction. . Among important industries affected the asparagus térest has suffered the worst. - Plantations yiclded hali-the pack of that vegetable for thc_cannenes_ are destroyed and the season’s output will be'so almdxcd hat our asparagus ‘market, which is largely. in Europe, will be diverted elsewhere for a supply, and when the plantations are restored ‘the market will ‘have to be re- covered. . "The flooded lands also yield a ‘considerable | part .of our potato, supply and the price of thzt vegetahle will be afiected by the loss. The intérests concerned, direct and co]latcra!, are try- ing to get: together. to_adopt-some plan that will pre- serve the navigability of the Sacramento and San Joa- quin and at the-same time correct their drainage capa- city. - Two important commercial cities are ‘concerned in this, Sacramento and Stockton. Some of the plans pro- posed to correct the Sacramento are objected to on the ground that they will impair the navigability of the San Joaquin, which of course is injurious to Stockton and perhaps to the impregnable reclamations on the south side of the San Joaquin. The engorgement of the Sacramento is said to be be- low Rio Vista and various plans have been suggested to correct it. The senior of these propositions is for a canai through the Montezuma hills. - This was, we be- lieve, first prof)osed by General Green of Colusa, who has been an observer of the river from the earliest set- tlement of its valley and is a capable engineer. Subse- quent study has led him to abandon the Montezuma ca- nal, because the fall at its lower end is insufficient to cffect its purpose. Yet all of the water that overflows the levees on the west side of the river and all of the drainage from that side is forced back into the river by the Montezuma hills, to be backed up by the stricture south of Rio Vista. All plans end in this, that that ob- struction must be in some way corrected. To the end that something may be done and that a waste of words may not be added to a waste of water it is proposed that a convention of all interests be held to organize for effectuating some plan. It is true that many years may go by without another flood like the present. - But will only add to the loss when it comes, as it surely will. With a --nse of security bred in long immunity, the value of improvements increases and. the risk rises. At present this water question is in the air. Many have plans withcrt reasons for them and many have reasons withoyt plans for them. In all the discussion we have heard nothing about a diversion of the river above Sacramento that will take all the spill and drainage on its west side from such natural reservoir as the Yolo basin ard carry it through the low country into Suisun Bay. . We don’t - know whether there is fall enough nor what the cost would be compared with that of the Montezuma canal: It may have been engineered already, but if so it has escaped our attention. - With only the most casual knowledge of the conditions below Rio Vista we are unable to.see how that stricture can be corrected to make it adequate for carrying the enormous volume of water that has caused the recent losses. If.the flood. waters: above 'the- con- fluence of .thé 'American River. could all be dnerted mw a_great-channel, taken fromthe river- entirel, ncd through the low.land into. Sunsnn B X would ‘perform’” exactly the: Sai bayous: of-‘the: lower reaches. make \ew Orleans safé.by " 1hat come dowri from the -.We-are not howey the .cnglnecrs and tho: the int_er_c'_.its i Shpra_rr_{'cnt‘ that its runoff they will gct_the grcaler scal \li<'sxssippi Rivér; by"a' Federal -c'inmi;;ion, n le\'e'ea and other .engineering devl:es in order to save ‘the cot-‘ tom, cane, toba¢co and rice- planhtmns from destrucuon, i expenditure g and there is no reason why a ‘much less . shiould ‘not be made for a. ike_ purpose on. the Sacra- mento and San Joaquin. JOf ¢ ourse if adequate remedy can be found within the -capacity of the land owners it “will be miore quickly -and usefully applied by them: -All _this must be determined by getting’ together and talkmg it over. Therefore those interested - should get together e ——— Marqms Ito has been decorated :with- the Order of the Plum Blossokn. . The event was honored by ‘fitting pagan eeremony and thie customary oriental redundance of sentiment. . It.is now up to the Mikado to present his premier of. fighting. sailor men, Admiral Togo, with “the peach. . No other emblem wlll do. ;ushce to his char- acter. - : FEDERAL COL‘ONIZATION . HE success of the Salvation Army-in its colomu- T tion experiments in this State and on the Arkan- sas River has led to the presenting of a bill in Con- gress to take the colomzatlon of the poor, now congested in cities, into the hands of the Federal Government. The bill provides a commissioner of colohization te be the head of a bureau in the Interior Department and for the issue of $50,000,000 in bonds, the procceds of which .will be loaned to colonists and the principal and interest will be met at fihy years maturity by a sinking fund consist-‘ ing of the surplus interest. The Government, that is to say, will charge enough more interest shan it pays to cancel the issue in a half century. The bill fs long and ciaborate, providing for limitation of the amount of land each- colonist can take and working out all of the detail. It is drawn by Consul Booth-Tucker, whose ex- perience qualifies him for such a task. 5 It is not pleasant to oppose a measure that has for its . purpose the benefits that are expected to flow from such a law. It is to relieve the congestion of our cities by taking people upon land and it aims te use for this pur- posc the areas to be i upder the Federal irriga- HE flooding- of rich and valuable lands in the flat | s The submerged' ; orreapondmg to ‘the length oi nmc lng ¢ producncm of flow .-rchon “of the .Nil e seesssesess o APRIL 1, 1904 “can be pxssed upon it the to ure must be cxammed in rggnrd to its in our i:opulafin‘n of poor heonle ‘our population is in cities. An tatistics shows that thls ur- ities, It is due to the enor- hich persists in remaining in orming perx‘na‘nemly foreign ulation” of cities and” by competing. thh it decreases its chances for rising above dependence. The most that could be hoped for from thls coloniza- tion ‘'scheme would be the transfer in the course of years of 2 ‘few hundred thousand from the cities to the coun- try. . But'while this is going on the congestion is in- creased by the addition of a million immigrants "a year to our population, the most of whom stay in cities and in clans by themselves. withdraw one from a city to the country at Government expense when the Government by its immigration laws’ admits for the one so transferred ten fresh immigrants, for that is about the proportion in which the process would proceed. The ten will become twenty when it is known that the Government is furnishing money and land, and the bill would be found to enormously in- crease the evil it is intended to abolish, as long as our ports are open to all comers from every country whq can show the few dollars required as a guarantee that they will not immediately become objects of charity. ‘This measure should be considered not from the senti- mental side alone. From that side it ‘does its projector infinite credit and we do not ‘wholly impeach it from a practical standpoint. “But it must be -examined very carefully, for its utility" is.dodbtful unless it be accom- pamed by a drastic_measure cuttmg |mm|grat|on down to a minimum. The republic of Panama has placed 'sbnavy for sale in_the world’s naval market. - promoter try to sell the formidable affair to Switzerland? If the little republic be shy.in purchase persuade her that | she'is at least as well off as Russia. If she can’t use her fighting ships she will at all events have the satxsfactmn of knowmg that she has them. - SAN J’OSE'S BLOSSOM TOURNAMENT HE San Jose women are arranginig for a blossom T tournament. A tournament committee has been appointed to take the ‘matter in hand executively. The San Jose Chamber -of Commerce is giving its aid for the good of San Jose and of:the Santa Clara Valley generally, of which San’ Jose is the commercial center. Twelve young ladies will lead.a parade that will be one’ of the’spectacular features of theé: tournament -season. Possibly a lady with a.retinue of gayly appareled aids will officiate as grand "marshal. The ColumBiz Park boys of San Francisco have promlsed to be a part of the procession. who has the time to spare to visit San Jose when the tournament is in progress. Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and other scuthcm cities have had flower festivals and such events have attracted great attention to the communities. San Jose has-had blossom celebrations and- with ‘good results.” of its fine climate and superb scenery thereby has been extended widely. : San_Jose's broad and level sn-c' s; . its amplltude oi sh:de’ its abundance of cozy homes and its all-around at- tractions’ have only to be seen, to be nppreuated :The blossom festival is. admlrzbly adamed to drawing people _of refinement who are seekmg the idea] snot in whlch. in'{a father, he plunged at words and sald gravely: " " Never have ‘the cond ons been bctte in San Clara County than” they are thls -season. for.several ‘montiis ‘to. come glory of flowering: ‘orchar.s spectators and . ‘stimulate - their . inférmed ‘Gardens ‘will- be gay -with a wealth of flowers: crops will be sturdy and “promise rich returns. “The county, without advenuhous md “fu lmagmatloxh Field som cnmwa] in_ its- orchards,- fields The .téurnament wnh 1(3 lavish - use f blossoms will show how plentiful they really are.. The. ‘attention of all strangers in San Francisco, when the tournament takes place, ought to be directed to San Jose. No means should be neglected to have information disseminated as widely as_ possible. No discriminating oblerver who 'shall visit it will be disappointed. Studentd of agnculture at the Umvemty of California need a properly equipped building so badly that they have set -ori foot an agrtltmn to-secure it themselves. 1t is incidents such as this fhat ‘encourage and fortify.a belief in the worth of higher education. Boys that need meflung badly enough, to go after it themselves are justifying their course. : —— > A quiee Commissioner .of New York summarizes his impressions of the police force of Chicago in the opinion that the peace guardians of the Windy City tolerate gambling, spend their time m saloons and in various other ways demonstrate their palpable unworth. Tsn’t 1t lucky for some people that' this New York critic did not travel farther West? . _ —_—— General Kuropatkin, hero of Russians and heralded conqueror of the Japanese, has arrived at the front. Is it too much for the world to ask now that the first round of this Eastern contest begin? The attack on Port Ar- thur has ceased to be even a subject of tea-table gossip, o In this view it will be vain to It will be worth the while for any persou | The fame. Therc ‘has b en rain tn drench thc land ; Why doesn’t some shrevsd' - ;i Mugazine‘. B | 'Game building at the World’s Fair are :{ tina,” Peru,- Germany, or an’ abundént g will seem -to -visitors from less favored - ands a bios-{* and * gardens. In.a separate building, from' which a And while the glass . | rare absence of mind, was reading in -atmospheric pressure, -* ‘mobile Association on St. Louis dly.. 1 exhibit will- be a comprehensive one, TALK OF His Liick. " “You tallk about hard luck stories, but this one wins the palm over any experiences I ever ran across in the newspaper business,” quoth a veteran reporter at the Press Club. “One wintry morning, with the rain in sheets and the wind a gale,” con- tinued the storyteller, “I was dragged out of bed at 7 o’clock, just three hours after I had finished a stiff day's work. The message from the city editor said- a land feud had broken out on the So- brante, the scene of many bloody crimes, over in Contra Costa County. Homes had been burned and the people were in a tumult of excitement over much shooting and incendiarism. . All of which looked like a big story. “Well, I got a double team at Oak- land and headed into the hills for Mo- raga Valley, the scene of these wild oc- currences. As the -day wore on I plowed through Redwood Canyon, mud to the hubs, the horses fatigued and I drenched, and cold and still milel !rum the valley.- “Along about noon I came to a uquat- ter’s cabin off, the road in the canyon.’ “THE TOWN A man on horseback had just stopped there. Hailing him I asked how much farther my road led me to reach Mo- raga Valley and I casually mentiorcd that there were hot tiines Jn sight.” He’ turned on me and.asked me what was doing. I told him again briefiy the tale of murder. 5 * “‘Young mai,’ he said; rather qulz- zically, ‘your story is true as gospel, but what you have said. occurred just gix months ago. There hasn't been a leaf stir hardly fn the SObrnnte -since, then.” “With a weary sigh of relle( I turn‘-d my’ team about and headed for home=. And all I got for my pains was a cuss- ing from the city editor becauze thc story didn’t pan out.” The Cry of the IVarker.r. The bahblderu ln the temple -made wlth ~Sat dt:lklng, ‘talking, Of n:ct!-tude nnd»Justloe, and the way The world should walk, o¢beying their commands. talking, all the ‘recorded _ polden .And shadows !engthehed in the busy' street, There .came a sound of swift, deter- mined- feet, B C £ And "blows upon the portal's brazen bands, And then-a voice, reléntless and elate: “We car:ednol for your arguments and creeds, ‘We care 110t for your pity or your hate, | ‘We' clamor not -for.theories, but deeds;. Then give of the heart, and not ‘the ead, Then ghe us for our toil, not stones, but bread!” —Apl"fl. Reader Magazine. * ‘The Prodigy’s Punishment. The infant prodigy of a Cincinnati household had just learned to swear. One evening, -when the family were sitting about,"and his father, a man of his easy chair, the youngster looked wickedly up at his parent and: said aloud,. “Papa, go to de debbil.” There was a moment of astounded silence, .the "boy’s ‘sisters and mother waiting in quiet horror foi the lord dnd master to admmlster ‘chastise- ment. That gemleman. aflected by -the suddenly laid down his paper-and gazed about him. Having a misty-idea that his son-had questioned - him,. and gathering from the faces of the assembled multitude that something” was expected of him, ", "Say- Please, Rlchard "—Llpplncott' St. Louis Nq’tc:. : . Exhibit space at the World’s Fair is scarce and hundréds of exhibitors are ‘clamoringfor space reserved by Rus- sia to add to their allotments. Exhibits for the Forestiy, Fish and now on their way from Brazil, Argen- Great Britain, France, Mexico and Japan. Stereopt.con views of the resources of Oregon will be shown on the interior’ of the stockade- of thé reproduction of Fort_Clatsop, Oregon’s’ building et the World’s Fair. . An automobile parade has been ar- ranged to follow the arrival of the touring party of the American Auto- Angust 1], at the World’s Fair. Hayti has decided at the "eleventh hour to have ah exhibit at’the World's Fair' and has’ applied for space.. The including” the important producu of the lulnnd. !apanese Ladics: The lsdles of the court of Japan live covered-gallery leads to the palace. Japanese etiquette is so complicated that these women spend a seven-year apprenticeship ‘to learn their duties. Each has her own apartment and even her own cook. 2 The woman of present-day Japan lives under far more liberal laws than | her mother did., There is now a law of divorce by mutual consent. Women lecturers are not unknown. Children of hoth sexes are educated together in the primary schools, a thing that horri- fies conservative grandmothers. There are women lawyers in Tokio; and, al- though their entrance into the medical profession is frowned upon, that preju- dice will give way in time. Not only have many Japanese women adopted the KEuropean costume, but some even wear trousers. Enfranchised. sy The official returns of the election in the commonwealth of Australia show that tht¢ newly enfranchised women availed themselves in great numbers of their electoral privileges. Whether they were mainly actuated by female curi- osity is not clear, but it appears that their chief influence upon_the election was in swelling the votes of all parties without affecting the result. They merely followed their husbands, hthu. uncles and male cousins. But they ‘| penalty at £ +* cast at any rate an. honest “vote, tor the original Austranan ballot system is not currup;ed. o Theé Retvizan. The Russian ' stranded battleship Retvizan is carled after a Swadish bat- tleship of sixty-four guns which was captured by the Russians at the battle of Wiborg in.1790. The word Retvizan means “Justice.” < - Answers to Queries. ‘POULTRY—J. B.; Freestane, Cal Poultry to the value of.$25 is exempt from execution in California. -~ = . BULL FIGHTING—M. J. K., Oak- land, Cal. Bull fighting is recognized as ‘a sport in Madrid, Spain, and In some ,qt the South American states, EGGS—E. W. R, City. If you will go . to the Golden Gate Park museum and there see the professor in charge of the ornithological department you can_ ob- tain ffom him ‘all the information you may desire in regard to birds’ eggs. COAST - OF ENGLAND-G. City. The language spoken - on the ‘coast of England is English, but in each province there is -a difference in the pronunciation; which gives the impres- sion that there are a number of dia- lects. CHANGES—D. D. L, Healdsburg, Cal. For information about changes in the land laws of the United States address a letter of inquiry to the .General” Land- Office, Washmston, D.. € ; nA.\'n LAW ‘MARTIAL LAW-—H. A. M., City. None of the histories of the Civil War .and none of the chronological records of the events of the war show that the city of Washington, D. C., was under martial law between April 15, 1865, and July, following. DEPTH OF OCEAN—X. Y. Z, Fort Baker, Cal. The greatest depths of ocean are: Atlantic, 27,366 feet; Pacific, 30,000 feet. These depths were ascer- tained by Murray, in charge of the expedition . on the Challenger, 1872-74, to circumnavigate the globe for the purpon of deep-sea spoundings. - SOAP—An Old Subscriber, Pinole, Cal. This department does not adver- tise any business place, therefore can- not publish where. a certain ‘soap agency is now located. Questions, the answer to which amount to an adver- tisement, will be answered by mail if the correspondent will inclose with the question a self-addressed and stamped envelope. CORDELTA BOTKIN—OId Subscrib- er, Sisson, Cal. Cordelia Botkin, charged with murder, was arrested at Stockton on August 23, 1898; was convicted of of murder in the first degree on De- cember 31, 1898, the jury fixing the imprisonment for life. Since that time she has been de- tained in the House of Correction, now known as a branch jail of San Fran- ecisco. . MILITTA LAW—A Subscriber, Santa Cruz, Cal. The present law of Con- gress in relation to the militia, com- monly called the “Dick bill,” provides that “whenever.the United States is in- vaded, or in danger of invasion fromn any foreign nation, .or of rebellion against the authority of the Govern- ment of the United States, or the Presi- dent is unable, with the other farces at his command to execute the laws At the Union in. any part thereof, it shall be lawful for the President to cail forth, for a period not exceeding nine months, such number of the militia of the State or of the States or Terri- teries or of the District of Columbia, as he may deem necessary to repel such invasion, suppress such rebellion, or to enable him to execute such laws for that purpose, to. such officers of the militia as he may think proper.” When so called out the militia shall be sub- ject to the same rules and articles of war as the regulu troops of the United States. MIRRORS-—F. W., Dunsmuir, Cal. Mirrors can be produced of any size to which plate glass can be cast. A plate of glass to be converted into a mirror is polished on both sides, then laid on a perfectly level table of great strength and solidity, usually of smooth stone, made. like a billiard table with raised edges. A sheet or sheets of tinfoil sufficient to cover the upper surface of the glass are then put on and rubbed down smooth, after which the whole is covered with qu. silver, which immediately forms an amalgam with the tin. The superflu- ous mercury is then run off and a wool- en’ cloth is spread over the whole sur- face ard square iron weights are ap- plied. This vressure is continued for a day and night. then the weights and cloth are removed and the glass placed on a wooden table with a movable top, which admits of gradual increasing in- clination until the unamalgamated quicksilver has perfectly drained away and only the surface of the perfect amalgam remains, coating the glass, and perfectly adherent to it. ————— s lemh Glace frults in o u!lflh lt.—ne::g 75 street. above - Barht S T hor S R B R = dan mcm.' m-. 5 F.oM,