The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 26, 1904, Page 8

THE SAN FRANCJSCO CALL, TUESDAY, JULY 26, 1904 - | [ P SN AtSm———— } Germany'’s Raron Tramp. { | Special Corcespondence. July —Baron Bennig- t been released from pris- | on after serving a term of six weeks’ | - asked me if I had a taste for any par- ticular kind of work, but my recollec- tion is that I had a distinet dislike of every kind. However, I had to learn something in the way of a trade, and a year later 1 was apprenticed to the village shoemaker, who received a pre- mium from the local authorities for un- dertaking my technical education. “In course of .time I learned how shoes are made, and I manufactured hob-nailed, boots for the rustic field workers. After being an apprentice for | four years I attained my freedom, as the phrase goes, at the age of 19 years, | and the poorhouse, which had hitherto | supervised my upbringing and educa- tion, now turned me adrift in the world to seek my own fortune. Summoning me to his august presence, the chief official of the poorhouse handed me the sum of $25 and a certificate testifying that I was discharged from the insti- tution with a good character. He also gave me a bundle of my family papers and explained to me how and where I could obtain other authentic copies if I needed them. T T U R BARON BENNIC ING THE OX THE POORHC imprisonment for using a false name. The Bennigsen family is one of the oldest in the nobility of Germany and this Baron is the present head of the family. In the eighteenth century they were at the zenith of their wealth and prosperity and kept house in more than royal style. The present Baron's grandfather was an incurable spend- ! thrift and the reckless way in which he squandered his princely income in-’ volved the family property in serious | difficuiti Baron Bennigsen, the | grandfather, in the course of time got through all his money and had to sell the family property to cover his debts. His misfortunes broke his | spirit and ruined his he#ith and he died in destitution, leaving his chil- dren without 2 penny wherewith to| face the world. His son adopted va- rious humble occupations and ended by sinking into absolute pauperism. Unaccustomed to hardship and pri- vation, disease overtook him at an early age end he and his wife, whom he had married before misfortune overtook the family, were compelled | to seek refuge in a poorhouse. The | Baron died there at the age of 30, and his son, the present Baron, was | born in the poorhouse shortly atter& his father's death. His mother -died | within a week and Baron Bennigsen was thus Jeft an orphan. He was brought up in the poorhouse in com- | pany with other juvenile paupers. | Questioned after his release from | prison 2 few days ago, Baron Ben- nigsen, who is now 45 years of age, gave the following account of his life: | “My first recollection is that I was the smallest inmate of the poorhouse in which I was born. The old pauper | women in the institution looked after me and I had not a bad time. Every one in the place knew that I was a| Baron, for my birth certificate and | my family papers were in the cus-| tody of the officials there, and no | doubt whatever existed regarding my | claim to rank and title. age I can remeMmber being sent to the | littie pauper school attached to the in- | stitution, wherel I, in company with other born destitutes, received the be- | ginning of an education. Later I had | to go to the public state school in the | and the kind of occupation did not village and here my troubles began.|suit me at all I had to wear a little suit of uniform indicating that I was a pauper and I|ed that I would do no more work and still have a keen recollection of thei scorn with which the elder children looked down on me. They bestowed on me such names as ‘pauper brat,’ | maintenance. This mode of life has its ‘pauper foundling,’ ‘charity boy’ and | disadvantages, but on the whole I find #0 on. I remember how keenly I felt | it preferable to dging work unsuited to the humiliation and how bitterly I re- | my aristoeratic hands. I live a life of sented the hard fate which had made | leisure and my journeys on foot lead g . usually logical, but this gift seems lacking when he | watering places. I ate sumptuous din- At an early | my hands to all sorts of occupation. e | “The shoemaker to whom I had been’ apprenticed had no need of me when the time came to pay a wage, and he discharged me to make room for an- other apprentice. I left the village of | my birth, which I hated with all my heart, and feeling rich in the posses- sion of $25 made my way to Berlin. Here I sought occupation as a shoe-! maker, but found none. When my small fund of money became exhausted I was forced to find work of some kind, and finally, taking advantage of a casual chance offered to me, I became a walter in a third-class restaurant in a very unfashionable quarter of the city. “After a time the proprietor of the! restaurant, to whom I had shown my papers, revealed to some of the regular guests of his establishment the secret of my rank and birth. From this mo- ment life in the restaurant became un-| bearable. The guests used to call me; ‘Herr Baron,’ and some of them who were rich parvenus took a peculiar de- | light in bullying me. The other waiters | made fun of me and soon I quitted the place in despair. “In the intervals of unemployment which had followed on the vacation of my previcus posts, I had enjoyed life ! as a gentleman. Both as a waiter and as a hotel porter I had accumulated | eonsiderable sums of money which en- abled me to live for a time in the style | befitting a Baron. I lived at fashion- | able hotels and traveled in the most | luxurious cars to the most expensive ners and gave princely tips to the men- ijals who waited on me. Altogether I lived like an aristocrat and so you can imagine that it was very difficult for me to stand on the step of a shabby omnibus, for instance, and collect one cent fares. Moreover, it offered me no opportunities of saving enough money | to enjoy another period of a life of | luxury and so, discontented with my losh, I abandoned the occupation. From this period, luck seemed to have turned against me more than ever.. I suffered the depths of destitution and turned | 1 went to Hamburg and worked at the docks as a casual laborer and in the summer I went down into the country district and worked as a harvester. The labor required of me was exhausting “Rebelling against my fate, I resolv- compel society to maintain me. I be- gan to travel about the country, beg- ging enough money to provide for my years the official in | luxury, but I receive sufficient to en- able me to eat and drink and sleep in % ing without visible means of subsis- 3 / | where they are licked into shape by the Committee Ways and Means, that is the only House committee that THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL JOEN D. SPRECKELS, Proprictor » « + + « + » » . Address All Communications to JOHN McNAUGHT, Manager Publication Office . ..Third and Market Streets, S. F. TUESDAY .eeeceesescessreassssscassoossnebonssannmnnsassesssssspessssassanssssnsssssssssccs.s.JULY 26, 1904 THE SOUTH AND THE SENATOR. HE filling of the seat in which Senator Bard has T faithfully served is a public issue now before the people of California. When we elect a Senator we do a larger thing than appears to a majority of the people. Many have come to look upon it in the same light as the election of a Representative to the House, the only difference being that there are fewer Senators and the term is four years longer. But that is not the correct view. We elect a Senator of the United States from the State of California. A Representative is justi- fied in his own State if he give faithful attention to the needs of his own district. But a Senator must not only include among his official cares his State; he must be dili- gent and dutiful and watchful of the larger interests of the United States, for he is sent by his State to be a Senator of the United States. This further dignity admonishes the people to select a Senator with care and with due regar’d to his charac- ter, industry, training and experience. The Senate is the greatest business body in the world. While the con- stitution compels revenue bills to originate in the House, of has primacy over any committee of the Senate. The | House is so large a body that it is unworkable, and its business is done by a few members of exceptional ca- | pacity for work. Each in his day, 3laine and Randall, Carlisle and Cannon, were the mechanics of the House, with a larger grasp of its business than any others, and each in the fullness of time had his reward. But when legislation goes to the Senate from the House and is added to the vast mass that originates in the upper chamber, there are fewer men to work, and therefore there are more workers than in the House. Indeed, every Senator has to work. Reputations are not made by making speeches, but by patient and constant attention to the vast volime of the public business of the country that pours into the Senate for final adjust- ment. It is true of every Senator that he gives more hours a day to the duties of his office than he ever gave to his private business. A faithful Senmator is the hardest working public officer in the world. These explanations are made to disclose the mistake in that view of the Senatorship that treats it as a place to sit still and shine. This State has need of Senators, and the United States looks to California to do her duty in delegating men to that high function. The first thing to be remembered is that while geog- { raphy has no relation to fitness, it has a great deal to | do with the temper and mood in which a selection is to be made. Southern California never had a Senator until White's time. Both Senators, from the beginning, had been claimed and taken by Northern California. Southern California representation has been continued by the selection of Senator Bard, and it should be per- petuated by conceding the next Senator to the south. He must be a Republican. The existing and future in- terests of the State require that he should be in acce-d with the party majority in the Senate, of which there | is no present prospect of change. Not only must the Republican party select a Senator, but it must go forward in such spirit and fairness as will permit the best selection to be made. Northern California has now one Senator and a Cabinet officer, the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor. So highly has the policy of concentrztion been applied that the Gov- ernor, Cabinet officer and Senator are all from one county, while the Lieutenant Governor is located not far away. It is just to Southern California to admit that her splendid Republican vote gave us the present State administration. She has now one Senator, and that situation should be left undisturbed. When Southern California selects the man desired to represent their people and the Republican party of that end of the State, there should be amiable acquiescence in the choice. We puf stress upon the point that this concession be understood now, and that Southern Califor- nia understand now that she is entitled to one seat in the Senate and that the Republican party of the State will abide by that understanding, and awaits the indica- tion of her choice. We_do not put this forward to pa- tronize Southern California or as a matter of tolerance, but as a matter of right and of justice, which the party will contest or deny to its own injury and that of the State. There are able men in Northern California who aspire to the Senatorship. It is a laudable ambition, but nothing is more laudable than justice, and in politics nothing pays a bigger dividend. It will lze well for Uncle Sam to keep a sharp look- out along the southern border for many moons to come. A San Francisco lawyer has received a concession from the Mexican Government to import Chinese coolies and to establish a “Little China” on the western coast of our southern neighbor. The Chinese are proverbially weak under temptation and are of a migratory disposi- tion. In connection with the fact that residence in the United States is more desirable than in Mexico it will be wise for Uncle Sam to be on guard. J candidate for the Presidency, whether he is im- pressed or not with the interesting and singular cir- cumstances which surround that candidacy. Mr. Cleye- land is putting his dignity to a rathér high tension in urging Judge Parker upon the favor and confidence of the country. Mr. Belmont and Mr. Dan Lamont, vice president of one of the railroads in J. J. Hill's celebrated merger, have sounded the high financiers in New York and are unable to conceal their pleasure at the promises of money to grease the Esopus candidacy. One might, without being uncharitable, harbor a suspicion that there is an understanding between Mr. Cleveland and his for- mer private secretary and Secretary of War, for he takes his pen in hand and goes to.print in Collier's Weekly at the precise time that his former Cabinet Minister passes the hat. Mr. Cleveland declares as to the gold standard that Judge Parker’s telegram filled the plank in the platform, and that “no man ever did more for the cause” than the Judge did by sending that dispatch. Mr. Cleveland is WILL PARKER RESIGN? ; / UDGE PARHMER is certainly aware that he is a tries to play the politician. If Judge Parker’s telegram were a heroic thing, what made,it so? If his act were brave enough to deserve all that has been said about it, what made it brave? I th Democratic convention fa- vored the gold standard and if that measure of value were safe in its hands and in the hands of the party it repre- sented, then there was no need of Judge Parker's tele- gram, for nothing was in danger, and heroes, rushing to the rescue, were not in demand. Quite unconsciously Mr. Cleveland makes it plain that the party was not in favor of sound money and was as deep in financial heresy as it was in 1806 by lauding the great service performed by Judge Parker’s telegram. But what will the country think about it? What au- thority has the candidate to fill blanks in the platform? If he may will things into it he may also take things out of it. Mr. Cleveland does not intend it so, but he is directly encouraging something that is fatal to political good faith. If Judge Parker alone can commit his party to one principle against its will, he may do as he pleases with every declaration it has made. It is natural that Mr. Cleveland should take that view of it. He worked a good deal at filling blanks himself when in the Presidency, but his party would not permit “tself to be guided by the filling he put in the blanks, nor is there any reason to believe that it will take any more kindly to Judge Par- ker’s dictation. The high financiers are not giving mil- lions to help the Democratic party, but to try and elect a candidate who will Net his party do the blustering while he “restores confidence” by justifying the good opinion of him exprgssed by J. J. Hill and John D. Rockefeller. ‘While all these signs and tokens interest the poli- ticians, the people are curious to know why Judge Par- ker does not resign from the bench. He is paying no attention to his judicial duties. His mornings are given up to breakfasts on his yacht with politicians. At noon- time he lunches with politicians at the house of his friend Sheehan. In the evening he dines with Belmont at his own table. He is in politics as much as any Presi- dential candidate ever was. Why doesn’t he resign from the bench? Even Mr. Cleveland confesses that up to the time the gold telegram was sent the Judge’s silence was embarrassing, but he thinks that thunderbolt made up for lost time and fell upon “the dust and swelter” of the convention like a wet mop. The activity of Mr. Cleveland has one motive that is not declared. The prominence in the convention of David B. Hill has renewed their old antagonism. The ex-President was always more likely to impair his dig- nity by expressing his resentment than in any ogher way. | He resents Hill's prominence as a backer of Parker, nence: these political letters. But why does he not ad- vise Judge Parker to leave the bench? The Board of Supervisors and the Mayor have be- come involved in a quarrel over a boxing permit that promises well to injure if not destroy the profession of | plug uglies in San Francisco. Let us be thankful for this unexpected co-operation of the authorities in° an affair that deeply affects the good name of the city. Let both sides be stubborn in their fight and neither grant 2 | concession to the other until pugilism in San Francisco has become a disagreeable but rapidly fading memory. I A Cuban prophet caught the veil of the future raised for a moment and took a peep behind it. There he saw the United States at war with Cuba, Germany, France and Mexico, and getting whipped. After that we gave up to Mexiep all that we took from her by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, including California. Cuba incorporated Porto Rico, San Domingo and Hayti. Mexico became the leading power of the hemisphere and UGncle Sam went over the hill to the poorhouse. The prophet, not necessarily for publication but as evidence of good faith, says that he is our friend and is really sorry for what coming thanks. If he could only have held the curtain up long enough to let us know what Europe ate while fighting’ us it would affect the grain and meat market. Outside of Russia there is not a European country that can feed its people during war or peace. They depend upon the United States. A VISION OF BLOOD. F Lochiel is around he may consider himself warned. is The prophet seems to have but little idea of the mili- | tary problem involved. The transporting of troops 3000 | miles in sufficient numbers to make any impression here | is an impossible task. We could be annoyed by a naval power in Hawaii and the Philippines, but as for pene- trating our continental position it is impossible. We are inclined to the opinion that the Cuban prophet has ma- laria and a torpid liver. For one thing we are all obliged to him. He says that all these things will come to pass in three or four years, so that most all of us will be here to see the show. Newfoundland appears to be profoundly dissatisfied with the trade arrangements that have been made for her by the mother country and seeks liberty of action sufficient to permit her to make reciprocal commercial treaties that will be favorable to her and not disad- vantageous to the United States. As our near.neighbor, for whom we have great good will and friendship, we wish Newfoundland all success. She has many things we want and we have more that she needs. MISSOURI FOLK. HE Democrats of Missouri, however unwillingly, T have nominated District Attorney Folk of St. Louis for Governor. He has put a large number of Democrats in the penitentiary, and even has the Lieu- tenant Governor on the way there, and has driven | many more to such an asylum beyond the reach of an | extradition treaty. "The widespread corruption of the party in Missouri, and ‘its extended existence and immu- nity, are among the remarkable conditions in recent politics. The spectac.le of a Lieutenant Governor bar- gaining for a price for his rulings and committee as- signments is nauseating. . The work of Mr. Folk has not extended beyond bribe getting, but if he will improve his opportunity as Gov- ernor to look into th: use made of the public school fund of the State he will lift the lid off a transaction involv- ing a- large number of the eminent men of his party. The present Governor, Mr. Dockery, had many terms in Congress, and has not distinguished himself at the head of the State. r. Folk must be a better fighter than talker, for his speech accepting the nomination would be a misde- meanor if there were . statute to protect the English language from maltreatment. Thanking the convention, he said: “This campaign has been waged not for a man, but for an idea. I have done nothing to merit this distinguished distinction,” and so *on through sen- tences backstitched, cut bias and built up in defiance of scowling moods and tenses mat at being kicked out of a place they have held in the language from the time of Shakespeare. upon us, for which | TALK OF THE TOWN a S An Arizona Bad Man. Word has come from Arizona that “Bones” McCarthy Is dead. ‘Bones” was esteemed universally as the wick- edest old man that ever lived, and even at that he was liked. The number of his years nobody knew, but about 4 per cent of his record is embalmed in the memory of the old-timers in the Terri- tory. He was generally accredited with being the first white child born in cap- tivity. Some claimed that he was the first man to warm up the Colorado River so that the fish grew soft. These reports may be taken for what they are worth; but one of the authenticated scraps of his past life may be inter- esting. ‘While he was in his prime he drove a twenty-four-mule team for the Govern- ment on the overland trail, which was the only avenue in those days for con- | vering supplies to the troops at the mil- ftary posts on the Southwestern fron- =3 HE REPORTED THAT HIS TEAM | | HAD BEEN HIT BY A CY- | CLONE. | »— =, . tier. One day he arrived at Fort Yuma, dirty and bedraggled, and reported to the commandant that his team and two | wagons, loaded with provisions, had been swept into the air by a cyclone. ! An investigation was made, but “Bones’ account could not be dis- proved. A report was accordingly made to the War Department and it is now | of record. In later years “Bones” ad- mitted that he sold the outfit to a gang of Mexican smugglers. | When “Bones” was dying a Mexican | priest, anxious to save a soul, invaded | the adobe and offered to hear the old | man's confession. “Want to hear my confession?” asked | | “Bones” in a faint vo | *Si, Senor McCarthy “Then you better lay in five days’ grub and enough morphine to keep your | | nerves steady,” said “Bones.” —_— ! I K Death. | | King Death was a rare old fellow, | He sat where no sun could shine, | And he lifted his hand so vellow And poured out his coal-black wine. | Hurrah for the coal-black wine! | | There came to him many a maiden | Whose eyes had forgot to shine, . And widows with grief o’erladen, For a draught of his coal-black wine. Hurrah for the coal-black wine! The scholar left all his learning, The poet his fancied woes; And the beauty her bloom returning. Like life to the fading rose. Hurrah for the coal-black wine. All came to the rare old fellow, ‘Who laughed till his eyes dropped brine, And he gave them his hand so yellow, And pledged them in Death’s black wine. Hurrah for the coal-black wine. —BARRY CORNWALL. Geese Must Move. Lawyers will be interested in the fol- lowing unique decision of a Tennessee court. In Nashville and K. R. Com- pany vs. Davis, 78 Southwestern Re- porter, 1051, a goose is held not to »» “an animal or obstruction,” within the Ten- nessee statute (Shannon’s Code, sec- tion 1574, subsection 4), requiring the | alarm whistle of a locomotive to be | sounded and the brakes on a train put | down, and every possible means em- | ployed to stop the train to prevent an accident, when “an animal or obstruc- tion” appears on a track. The court says it is true a goose has animal life, and in the broadest sense it is an ani- mal, but it does not think the statute requires the stopping of trains to pre- vent running over birds. Birds have wings to move them quickly from | places of danger, and it is presumed that they will use .".em, though this may be a violent presumption in the case of a goose, which appears to be loth to stoop from its dignity to even escape a passing train. “But the line must be drawn somewhere, and we | occasion did not inspire gayety. OF AHE ——— with the outer world, but still holding aloof.” Bardsey boasts a “king” and the history of the Bardsey throme s somewhat remarkable. The island is the property of Lord Newborough and was a favorite resort of his grandfather. He it was who In- stituted the office of king. Select from the islanders one of superior parts and character, he invested him wit the general authority whica he hir self possessed as landlord and appoint ed him as head man, bidding the rest to obey his ruling, abide by his deci- sions In case of dispute and in general respect his authority. Partly In jest, partly no doubt to strengthen his vice- gerent’s position, he cofiferred upon him the title of “King of Bardsey,” and be- stowed alsd upon him a crown, a treasure and an army. The “crown was a gorgeous diadem of brass, won- drously embossed and wrought; the “treasure” a silver casket brought from Italy and the “army” a wooden figure painted to represent a soldier. For many years the “king” ruled in Bardsey under the guidance of his munificent patron, and the title and re- galla are still held by his son. a pic- turesque old peasant. Lord Newborough died in 1888 and was buried on the isi- and. Cannonade on Cats. A woman who was in Port Arthur during the hombardments by Admiral Togo is quoted in the Philadelphia Ledger, describing the curious effect produced on cats by the cannonade. “I was at my window during each bombardment,” she has related, “but | only through the day, because at night | T did not dare to stir out of bed. In | front of me there was a little roof on | which five or six cats of the neighbor- | hood collected. Each time there was |a bombardment the cats duly arrived and, having observed them, I on the second occasion proceeded to watch |them. With my family we passed the | hours looking at them. At each gun- shot the cats arched their backs and | stiffened their legs and seemed both | terrified and furious. Then when a hissing shell arrived it gave the sig- ral for a frightful battle. They jumped at each other, raging like ti- gers, and seemed to hold each oth responsible for what was taking place. The effect was so comical that we could not help laughing, although the After having fought the cats retired for a while, as though bewildered, but as said the priest. [soon as the bombardment began again they went through the same business. Each time it was always the same.” Magnificence. A Sheffield firm has received from an Eastern potentate an order for a bedroom suit in solid silver. The de- signs are of Oriental character and of a most elaborate description. It is to be of solid silver throughout and in- cludes a bedstead, a cabinet, a dress- ing table, a dozen chairs, three foot baths and three hot water cans. The bedstead is of the most ornate char- acter. Each of the four pillars will b= surmounted by gracefully molded fe- male figures nearly three feet in height. The molding of the room and other decorations will also be in ster- ling silver. Answers to Queries. MAGUIRE'S OPERA HOUSE-T. ., City. Maguire's Bush-street Opera House, San Francisco, was opened May 4, 1874, BLACK INK—M. 8. 8, City. The addition of sulphate of indigo to ordi- nary black ink will make it a perma- nent black. DRYING PEARS—E. C., Napa, Cal ‘Those who dry pears, pare them, cut them into quarters, string and then hang them in a frame to dry. When dry they are remov 1 from the strings and packed away. Some use the sui- phur process for the purpose of bleach- ing the dried fruit. GUIDE BOOKS—S. M. R., Davisville, Cal. This department does not adver- tise any business, consequently cannot “publish the address of a place in San Francisco where I can procure a guide book of the city.” Such questions should be accompanied with a self-ad- dressed and stamped envelope for reply by mail RIGHT TO VOTE—C. B, San Jose, Cal. No State of the Union can deprive a citizen the right to vote on the ground that he is a black man, for the Fif- teenth Amendment to the Constitution are of the opinion that the goose is a proper bird to draw it at.” A Puppet King. The isle of Bardsey, off North Wales, is the remote home of a singularly iso- lated community, and some of the in- teresting features connected therewith are noticed in the Field Naturalists’ Quarterly. The dimensions of Bardsey are, roughly, two miles in length by one in width. The inhabitants, who oc- cupy some dozen well-built and com- fortable farmhouses, divide the callings of farmers and fishermen. “They form a shy and reserved community, gradu- ally thawing under the influence of in- creased facilities of communication of the United State affirms that: “The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denmied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.” In some of the States citizens, white or black, are denied the rignt of suffrage by reason of not possessing the quali- fications required by the State Consti- tution, such as inability to read the constitution in the English language or write his name, ete. e —— Townsend's California Glace fruits In artistic fire-etched boxes. 715 Market st.* Special g T T A ifornia street. Telephone Main 1043, &