The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 3, 1904, Page 12

THE SAN FR CISCO SUNDAY CAL | ) A A W. A L <> N sl his v of the inception and progress of the present Russo- Japanesc war there is nothing so inte ting ) fascinating to the frapk, ‘outspoken American mind as the subtle intrigue plot and coun- terplot, and the reaching net of sly diplomacy that has just begun to drib- ble out from h sides. It is the sort of covert game that ¢ ratic Amer- jca dc not fully comprehend, hence the dragnetting of libraries @ book stares for ything that hrow éven a side light upon the s As a particular exa point, the world is realize that the e Queen of Kore: t bear away back ir ing upor was part ti Pittsbur: the ws. the Baltimore der the thods i company value of ing for a maximu leppe, unless green shall pave been made 777 FUENIS FIROCT /7T ITON. =~ & () <>< book that gives information about the Far East has induced Little, Brown & Co. of Boston to issue a new {llus- trated edition of “The Queen of Quel- parte,” that striking romance of Rus- sian intrigue in Korea by Archer But- ler Hulbert, which was recently pub- lished The romance turns on the ambitious plans of Russia to secure possession of Pert Arthur of the intrigues which led to success in wresting the fortre. the victorious Japanese. Colon Oranoff is the central figure romance, and much of the ac the state funeral of the mur- on Que »il the reader's enjoy- a glimpse of the plot, but said that it contains some amatic episodes, in i American plays a con- P amework & % & QOC ~ ArcberButler flqlbert CRETGN FFICERS BEFORT, THE KING OF KORER . d 2 & SEIESS / RUSSIAS * INTRIGUE-IN- KOREA “He shows that Russia secretly In- cited the uprising against the Korean monarchy that led to the death of the Queen in order to gain a hold on the kingdom. Then she used that virtual mastery of Korea to transfer the coun- try to Japan as a sop for the seizure of Port Arthur. “One of the most vivid features of the book is the superstition-of the Ko- recans, which permits the hero to con- duct a state funeral without a corpse. The story is intensely interesting, and, in addition, it gives a good picture of Korea and the Koreans.” As pointed out by Mr. Fitch, the au- thor of “Queen of Quelparte” has built his novel upon a foundation of truth and historical fact, which is the reason that it is now enjoying such a wide cir- culation. These are actual facts, for, although the name of Quelparte, an island prov- ince of Korea in the Yellow Sea, is used in the title of this story, the de- scriptions, customs and moest of the legends are distinctly Korean, and the setting of the romance is entirely true to those wild days in Korea In the winter of 1897-98 when Russia accom- plished its bloodless conquest of the country, and temporarily withdrew in the following spring—according to com- mon report to pacify Japan—soon after Russia’s lease of Port Arthur from China was made known. Despite the large degree of fiction in the narrative it is doubtful whether there is more fictlon than fact. The Queen of Korea was murdered in her palace at Seoul October 5, 1895, in the belief that she was playing into the hands of Russia. The palace was fired, and only a fragment of her body fe- mained to be carried in the imperial funeral, which occurred in November, 1897. The details of the events in tn® chapters “The Imperial #uneral” and “Tha Signal of the Scabbard” are de rived la the author's letters to Ame 1 T written from K rea at that tim But there is something more vital here than certain descriptions and in- cidents, and that is the spirit of Ru sian i 1c The thread of the of course, a fiction of th h all will recognize, t Russian methods of intrigue in the East, of her infinite scorn of truth of the depths of her deceit, of the intense liveliness of that old d Peter the Great, of in acquiring possession of the reason for her throwing it away again is essentially true. The will of Peter the Great, referred to in chapter II, is kept in the secre archives of the Russian Governm with vigilant care and religious rev ence. It is inscribed: “The S Plz of European Supremacy left by Pe the Great to his Su rs on the Rus sian Threne.” It is because of this value ness, as well as its histor quite apart from its absorbin as a tale of love and adv which, too, it has been free there is more truth than cares to confess, that the S has secured this excellent publication, compl: in four f timeli- truth beginning next Sunday, April 10. As is pointed out by reviewers it is a boek only replete der passages, count of the matic Inciden minated in the pre intimate customs stans, Koreans, that has ever been Orient. It is even reliable than the h For that reasor day, it will be a the long line of timely novels that the Sunday C: its advanced literary policy, has been glving to its readers. L written about ti re fascinatin 1 SOME NEW railroad and the shipper, and also ment as to freight rate, with the e of the shippers to the agree- agre DELAY IN SHIPMENT NOT UN- USUAL—CARRIER NOT LIABLE. When it is shown that there has been no unusual delay in the transit of goods shipped by a carrier, there can be no recovery for such delay when tice was not given to the railrcad company that haste was imperative Choctaw, etc., R. Co. vs. Walker, 76 S. W. Rep. 1058. ACCIDENT—UNNEC SARY GONG RINGING. If one in charge of an electric car, seeing that a horse is frightened by the approach of the car, and that its driver AND TIMELY COURT DECISIO NS o * in gong or frig ren continues to sound the bell, and further and causes it to company is held, in v, the Oates vs. Me tan ‘Strget Ry. Co. (Mo.), b8 A. 447, to be liable for the injuries thereby caused to the driver. ’ RAILROAD TICKET A RECEIPT, NOT A CONTRACT. A railroad ticket is not a contract, according to a decision rendered by the California Supreme Court. It is also declared that transportation com- panies may make rules and regula- tions beyond what appears on the face of a ticket and that the passengers must comply with them all. The court says a ticket {s more of a receipt than a contract, and holds that a railroad company can impose such additional EVER BUILT LARGEST LOCOMOTIVES EN monster locomotives, the largest in the world, are in pro- cess of constructior the Bald- win Works. Bach will be capable of pulling & ter weight than ever Pefore acco ished by a single loco- motive Thest machines are part of an order Yor Afty placed by the Atchison, To- peks and Santa Fe Rallroad Company, and the work of construction is being rushed for an early delivery. It is ex- pected that this locomotive will prove the .beginning of an epoch in railroad freighting whith may resuit in the abo- Ntion of thousands of emaller and wreaker engines of this and other coun- trjes. They are the product of a theory that one gigantic locomotive, having the power-of two of the present average type, can be operated more cheaply ‘thén two small ones. The ten locomotives will be able to pull 60,000 tons of dead weight on a l¢vel grade. If the first-class armored #teel battleships Vermont, Connecticut, Kaneas and Ohio were placed on wheels on a level track it is safe to say that they could be pulled across the continest by the ten locomotives. A _string of fifteép or twenty of the ordi- ‘mary type of freight engines would be reqifired to pull a similar weight. " "he weight of each engine complete wiil be about 280,000 pounds and that of .shé gender about 200,000 pounds. Their speed” ‘will be much greater than that of freight locomotives now wused in pulling the ore trains of the Santa Fe road, and their cost will probably be at least a third more than that of the best freight engine now on the road. From the time the first cast was made until the first shipments shall start over the ralls for the Southwest fifty days will have elapsed. A force of about 18,000 men assist in the construc- tion of these engines, the thousands of pieces of iron and steel being directly handled by at least half that number. Although of the same width of the smaller engines and adapted to the same tracks, the new type is much longer and higher than the others, and when placed beside one of the old style locomotives the latter appears a pygmy indeed. The most distinguishing fea- tures beside the size are tandem cylin- ders and the immense driving wheels. Before leaving the Baldwin shops the ten great locomotives wil probably be irspected by representatives of several of the Eastern rallroads. The other forty locomotives will be of the balanced compound type, similar in many respects to the French engines. The drivers will be seventy-nine inches in diameter and the cylinders fifteen and twenty-five inches, with a twenty- six-inch piston stroke. They are de- signed to attain a speed of eighty miles an hour and will be used exclusively for passenger trains. Each will weigh about 320,000 pounds, including the tender. Shipment of these will begin April, and the last will leave the shops in May. While work on these engines is rap- idly progressing a rush order for twelve locomotives from the Japanese Govern- ment is being pushed with all the ex- peditior: possible. They are for the mil- itary roads in Korea and will be started for the seat of war early next month. Six of the engines are of the standard gauge and six of narrow gauge. Owing to the fact that Russian loco- motive plants are small concerns it is thought by many railroud men that a large order for locomotives may at any time be placed with an American plant by the Russian Government. conditions as it may see fit, and which the passenger is bound to observe. The decision was handed down in a suit brought by the purchaser of a railroad ticket for passage on a cer- tain train, which consisted of sleeping coaches only, and who, not having se- cured the necessary berth, was denied passage. The plaintiff's contention was that a railroad ticket is a contrdct and that a first-class passage on this train was guaranteed hini, nothing be- ing said on the ticket about the neces- sity of securing a berth. Ames vs, Southern Pacific Railway Company, Cal. Sup. LIABILITY WHEN TRUE VALUE OF GOODS IS NOT STATED. ‘When goods are delivered to trans- portation company for shipment and are of value in excess of the amount stated In the reeceipt, if the true value s not given to the carrier, he may not be held responsible for any excess over the maximum value stated in the re- ceipt when he shows thut an exira che is made for more valuable goods and special care is taken of them when ther are of such value, particularly when no affirmative act of wrong upon his part is shown. Hirsch vs. Y. Dispatch, etc.,, Com- pany, 85 N. Y. Sup. 198. LIMITING LIABILITY FOR LOSS OF BAGGAGE. The Supreme Court of the District of Columbia (Hall vs. Southern Railway) holds that a railroad company can lim- it its liability for loss of baggage by stipulation in railroad ticket. Plaintiff sued for loss of $150 worth of personal effects destroyed in a wreck, claiming that a carrier cannot limit its laibility against its own negligence, but the court held that it was competent for the parties to agree to the valuation of the goods and to contract that in case of less only the amount agreed upon should be paid. The court also held that having signed the ticket the plaintiff wasg estopped from setting up the claim that she did not know its contents and had not read the ticket, and found for the plaintiff for §100, the amount of the lability stated in the contract ticket. LIABILITY FOR NON-DELIVERY OF TELEGRAPH MESSAGE. ‘Where a telegraph company accepts a message notifying the sendee that his sigter was dead and of the time of the funeral, it will be liable for damages “for the mental anguish caused by fail- ure to deliver the message, although the addressee resides beyond the limits within which messages are delivered free, and although the company will not deliver messages outside of those limits without payment or guarantee of charges, when, instead of motifying the sender and asking for payment or guarantee of the charges, it returns the same message with the Information that the party is not known. vs, Western Union Telegraph Company (N. C.), 46 S. E. Rep. 938. ACT OF GOD EXCUSING CARRIER FOR LOSS OF GOODS. An act of God will excuse a common carrier for loss of goods in his posses- sion unless he was guilty of negligence in, or contributed to, the loss. If he was guilty of such negligence, he will be held iiable for the loss; but having HE question of communication between the various parts of a ship which has to be con- trolled from the bridge and conning tower is still in an unsatisfactory condition, although en- deavors are being made to solve the problem by committees in the Channel and Mediterranean squadrons. As 1 — | GREAT COST OF NAVAL WARFARE | ROM Tuesday to Sunday,” Vie- tor Hugo wrote in his diary on January 3, 1871, ‘“the Prus- slans hurled 25,000 projectiles at us. It required 220 railway trucks to traneport them. Kach shot cost 60 fr.; total, 150,000,000 fr. The damage to the forts is estimated at 1400 fr. About 10 men have been killed. Each of our dead cost the Prussians 150,000 fr.” This extract gives one an excellent idea of the cost and effectiveness of big gun work on land a generation ago, when it tock an average of 2500 pro- Jectiles, costing 150,000 francs to kill o single man and to inflict less than £6 worth of damage on the enemy’s forti- fications. ¥ But times have changed since then, and munitions with them; and the great guns of to-day, on the sea, at any rate, give a vastly different ac- count of themselves. During the re- cent war between America and Spain, it will be recalled that the Brookiyn poured such a deadly deluge of pro- jectiles into the Spanish warship Vis- caya that within five minutes the lat- ter lay at the bottom of the sea a rent and battered jumble of scrap iron. In all, the Brooklyn fired 618 shells at the Viscava, and the bill of destruction read thus: To 141 8-inch shells at £50 each... £7,060 Mo 65 6-inch shells at £21 each... 1,635 To 12 6-pounder shells ‘at £1 eeh ... I RE . 12 To 400 1-pounder shells at 12s 6d [ o Wimseybeit At el 250 _Thus the five minutes' firing cost the United States £8677, and during each minute of the duel the Brooklyn hurl- ed 123 projectiles at her enemy at a cost of £1735. If we add to this the cost of the Viscaya's answering fire we see that the fight between the two ships could scarcely have cost less than £3000 a minute, or at the rate of £180,000 an hour. We must remember, tod, that on neither ship wopld: it be possible to use all the avaflable guns at once; =o that there is still a large margin for increased expenditure when a man-of-war is in a position to usé her fighting powers to the utmost. But let us take one of our own first- cl; battleships, the London, and esti- m::: the cost of five minutes’ fighting, assuming that she could use all of her 46 guns throughout: The London's four 12-inch guns, which, by the way, cost no less thau £220,000, fire armor-piercing shells, weighing 850 pounds each, at the rate of two a minute, each projectile with its cordite charge of 167% pounds, cost- ing £80. Thus in five minutes’ fight- ing these four destruction-dealing monsters would hurl at the enemy 40 projectiles weighing more than 18 tons and costing £3200. Each 8-inch gun, of which she has 12, costing £3750 each, throws shells of 100 vounds weight, costing £14 apiece; and in five minutes of rapid and con- tinuous firing these guns would pour into the enemy's ships a hurricane of projectiles weighing approximately 22 tons, at a cost of £6383. So far we ave only accounted for 16 out of the guns. The Tondon's 12-pounders numher 18, and cost £555 each; from the mouths of these guns no fewer than 900 shells could be poured in five minutes, representing over 9 tons of m and a cost of £3380.—London Times. pointed out some time since, the Vie- torlous in the Channel and the Vener- able in the Mediterranean fleets have both been specially fitted up with me- chanical and electrical apparatus for experiment by these committees, who, I understand, are subsequently to hold joint meetings for the purpose of com- paring notes, when further tests and experiments will be made to clear up any points of doubt or conflicting evi- dence. The main question is, of course, to give the maximum amount of pro- tection to a system which is the least likely to break down by other means than being cut by the fire of the enemy. This is naturally very hard to obtain, for both electrical and mechani- cal arrangements are peculiarly liable to get short circuited or out of gear. The voice pipe still holds its own in these competitions as being the most trustworthy wherever protection can be efficiently given, as there is no elec- trical or mechanical apparatus to go wrong which can render it inefficient, as the electric call bell can, on a pinch, be done without. This system has been vastly improved recently by the fixing of megaphone mouthpieces to each end of the pipes, as riot only do these de- liver the message in much louder tones, but they also collect the sound and pass it on from persons at varying dis- tances from the mouths of the pipes. Another device which s attracting at- tention is the fixing of megaphone lis- teners and speakers to the telephone itself; and I am Informed, experiment is being made with encouraging results in this manner of delivering and re- shown that the superior force was in a measure responsible for the loss, the burden is cast upon the owner of th goods or animals to show that the carrier was also gullty of negligence. Jones vs. Minneapolis, ete, R. Co. (Minn.) 97 N. W. Rep. 893. LIABILITY FOR MISDELIVERY. Where merchandise is accepted for delivery to a certain person at a casino, and by the carrier was turned over to an expressman and by him delivered to the bartender at the casino, who accepted the merchandise, receipted for and paid the charges, the carrier will be liable to the consignor when the bartender was not the agent nor a: thorized to receive the goods for the consignee. Schlessinger vs. N. Y., etc,, R. Company, 85 N. Y. Sup. 372. » A BAFFLING NAVAL PROBLEM | ceiving messages, the instruments speaking out in almost trumpet tones. It is to be hoped that some safe and certain system, easy of operation, will shortly be established, for swift and clear inter-communication in our fight- ing ships is, obviously, of the very highest importance where fire control in action is concerned, as well as the safe navigation of our ships under all conditions. & In addition to the hydraulic hoists for boats, which can only be installed in fighting ships with hydraullc power for other purposes, such as working the machinery of the guns, ete., electrical boat hoists, for such ships as have electrical installations only, are being introduced into the navy. Such appa- ratus as this is becoming increasingly necessary in modern ships, whose con- struction makes it almost impossible for the men to man the boats’ falls, and have a clean run along the deck to hoist the boats rapidly, as was the case in the old ships with long gang- ways and flush deck, In the days of masts and sails. The filddler or band then played up the boats at night, or played in the boom boats when prepar- ing for sea, at the double. As it is frequently the case that slow hoisting may endanger the life of a portion of the crew, as well as the sides of the boat itself, some electrical, mechanical or hydraulic system of rapid working has become necessary, and is in no way to be considered as a luxury only for saving manual labor. Nevertheless, they are labor'saving, as well as time saving machines, and will prevent the men being brought on deck so often during the silent hours in the evening. —London Globe.