The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 8, 1904, Page 6

T HE SAN FRANCISCO® CALL, MONDAY, AUGUST woeful miscarriage of justice, took his A week ago the original case up. Thomas Smith was arrested and charged with committing frauds against susceptible young women in precisely the same manner as it had been alleged that Beck had done. When confronted with this prisoner two of the women who had testified against Beck acknowledged made a mistake and that Smith was quent investigation satisfied the police that Beck was innocent and represen- tations made to the Home Office pro- cured his release on nominal bail. But | laws of England provide no compensa- | tion. Wireless in the IWar. to the advices from the According operators of the !system in Chinese and Japanese wa- {EADQUARTERS OF THE CALL, |ters, there is an unending train of | 5 HENRIETTA STREET, 3 J 4 Victim of Justice. pecial Correspondence of The Cai COVENT | ar 241t is been a more wireless signals going on day night in that vicinity. The signals of the Russians and the Japanese, and especially the latter, can be heard at ali these nations, in common 1 others, using in telegraphy a ion of the Morse telegraph GARDEN, LONDO btful if ther kable case Adc eve of mistaken identity ] of Brit- k is the - . The telegraph alphabet . A Sentence Of | ysed by the Russians contains thirty penel servitude for & CFiMe | characters; that of the Japanese is r committed and again|said to contain forty characters, while wviction for frauds of|the American Morse contains but ¢ equally innocent, h&s|twenty-six characters. But, apart leased from jail on bail pending | from the difference in the alphabets, free pardon, the au-|the Leen granti belligerents use cipher codes, thorities having been convinced that a | ywhich render theif communications woeful blunder was made in his case. |unintelligible to otusiders, even if they Mistaken identity is a favorite device | were otherwise readable. of the novelist for creating trouble for The De Forest wireless station . but he would be regarded &s| North China from which the wireless who should twice make | war news is cabled to Europe is sit- e victim in a court of | yated on a cliff somewhat east of Wei- justice of his “double.” Yet this is pre-| hajwei. The height of the vertical cisely what happened to Adolph Beck. | wire used is about 150 feet, which is that they had the man who had robbed them. Subse- | for the martyrdom he has suffered the De Forest wireless ! in! And what makes the case still stranger than the examples abounding in fiction | the fact that the real criminal,! Tho jith, bears only a general | e to the man who has suf- his misdeeds. Seen together | distinguished. Smith chin and a mole over fs resemblar fered Beck's awful experience— herded as he was among vile criminals &nd regarded with scorn and loathing by his former associates when he had regained his freedom—they have not | embittered him, though they have| turned his hair nearly white. Faith in| divine justice never failed him. After his second arrest and conviciion, he| says, “I prayed day and night that the great wrong which I was undergoing | would be redressed. ‘Surely,’ I said (n‘ elf, ‘God will not allow a l’ur\her:h done me after all that gone through.’ And so I went on g and trusting that in the end all | be well 1 was never downcast When 1 was | in my cell 1 sometimes heard music ‘ played on barrel organs outside, and | g0 cheery did 1 feel that 1 was A sionally inclined to dance. But it this that impressed me more than any thing else with the belief that I should be rele Three ks before the police arrested louble on the charge brought against me, while 1| was lying a ), dreaming in my cell, 1 heard say ‘You will be saved! 11 be saved!” From that moment 1 never despaired. I knew it | only a matter of time when all v.ould come out right.” The circumstances which led to the | confounding of the innocent with the guilty date back twenty-seven years, mithough Beck knew nothing of them | at the time. In 1877 a man calling him- | self Thomas Smith was sentenced to five 3 penal servitude for fraudu- lently aining jewelry and money from young women whoese affections he had won while posing as a lord. In 189 Beck was arrested on a similar charge and it was then alleged that he was the same who as Thomas Smith had been convicted in 1877. Beck stoui- ly protested his innocence, indignantly denied that there had been any pre- vious conviction against him, and de- red that he was in Peru in 1877. The kandwriti of the man who commit- 1ed the 1877 frauds was compared with notes written by the author of the crimes with which Beck was charged, and the writing was found to be iden- tical. Specimens of Beck's handwrit- ing were also put in evidence and the inevitabie handw g expert swore that all three writings were the work of the same man. This evidence alone was almost suf- ficient to convict Beck, but seemingly more convincing proof was forthcom- ing. Severol women entered the wit- ress box and solemniy swore that Beck was the man who had robbed and de- frauded them. Against such over- whelming evidence his protests of in- nocence availed nothing. The jury w You v o 3 | rolling of the boat also the height of the station above | sea level. The Chinese steamship Hai- mun, which was chartered by the Lon- don Times for newsgathering by wire- less telegraphy, has a vertical wire about ninety-six feet high. The trans- | mitting and receiving apparatus em- ployed at Weihaiwei and on the Hai- mun are practically identical and. the oyerating rooms virtually correspond to those of the Panama and Port Limon stations. sent to and from the boat at distances ranging from ten to one hundred and fifty miles. The signals could be heard at greater distances from the boat to the shore than contrawise, the times interfer- ing with the reception of signals. At the time of Russia's announcement that correspondents employing wire- less telegraphy in the war zone would | be treated as spies, the Haimun was on the Korean coast and those on board were promptly informed of the interesting situation by wireless teleg- raphy. This vessel has had several interest- | ing experiences. One day last April, the Haimun was within twelve les of Port Arthur and eighty-five miles from Weihaiwei, on the lookout shot across her bows from the Russian warship Bayan. Not knowing what migh®™happen, Captain James, the cor- respondent of the London Times on the Haimun, sent a wireless dispatch to Weihaiwei, notifying that station that cers of the Russian battleship Bayan. “If you do not hear from us in three hours,” said the message, “notify com- missfoner, captain of British gunboat Leviathan and London Times.” There | was some natural anxiety to know if | received, but | the message had been presently all anxiety was relieved by Weihaiwei operator. In a short time a reply came stating that the commis- sioner and the commander of the Brit- ish fleet at Weihaiwei had been prop- erly notified and that from the window that the fleet was getting up steam— “and that,” added the operator, “is no dream.” Two Russian officers boarded the Haimun, inspected the wireless ap- paratus and took a copy of the last message sent. In the midst of their in- spection the officers were hurriedly re- called to the Bayan by apparently ex- cited signals from that ship, which im- mediately returned to Port Arthur. It was surmised by those on the Haimun, as an explanation of their hasty re- turn, that the Russians had detected Japanese wireless signals. On the other hand, it is quite possible that the Ba- yan’s wireless operator may also have received the messSages sent from the Haimun and from Weihaiwei relative to the boarding of the Haimun, and this, for prudential reasons, may have occasioned the hasty recall of the be noted that while the ether itself transmits all forms of electric waves found him guiity and he was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude, After serving his sentence and re- ceiving the usual commutation for good behavior he sought diligently to discov- er the man for whose crimes he had suffered such cruel punishment. But though he shifted his address contin- ually and haunted the places where he thought he would be most likely to run across the villain who looked like him he did not find him. While still engaged on his seif-ap- pointed task which he hoped would es- tablish his innocence before the world the crueiest blow of all befell him. He was again arrested early in the spring on charges similar to those for which ke had undergone a long term of im- prisonment. As before, he protested his innocence; but again women appeared who swore that he was the man who had robbed and deceived them, and as before a jury found him guilty. But "his words to the Judge when bim must have impressed that official, for septence was deferred until July 25. “1 have no recollection of what I Impartially, it is quite within the prob- abilities that some characteristic in the method of transmission, or some pe- culiarity of code used by one vessel or fieet, might after a little experience be quickly recognized by other fleets and in this way the presence of friend or enemy could be recognized without a regular message.—From “Wireless Tel- egraphy of To-Day,” by Willlam Ma- ver Jr., in the American Monthly Re- view of Reviews for August. | What It Costs. Modern naval warfare is one of the most costly things that can be imag- ined and a combat between two fleets means the expenditure of vast sums of money. Some idea of the high cost can be arrived at by taking a Japanese warship like the Kasuga or Nysshin and calcuiating the number of shots she would discharge, say, at Port Ar- thur. The first named ship carries four cannon which cost $30,000 each. One of these guns can fire two shots per minute and every shot costs $400; thus in five minutes these four cannon cen discharge forty bombs at a cost of $16,000. The smaller cannon cost each $18,000 and every shot they fire means an ©f $70. They are very rapid and it is estimated that in five minutes the twelve cannon could discharge shot to the value of nearly $35,000.—Leslie’s Weekly, Messages were freely | for war news, she was held up by a | they were about to be boarded by offi- | the welcome signal “O. K.” from the | of the operating-room it could be seen | boarding officers. On this point it may | THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor . « .« « « « . . . Address All Communications to JOHN McNAUGHT, Manage: Third and Market Streets, S. P. MONDAY T o b e T A e T CROPS AND STRIKES. ! i RADE conditions last week were practically the i T same as for the preceding two or three weeks. Crop prospects and labor disturbances were still the gov- j erning factors. Both being unsettled, business was thereiore also unsettled. The crop conditions may be summed up in a few . words. The wheat outlook is by no means as bright as three weeks ago, but the condition of corn is excel- { lent and that of cotton brilliant. The latest estimate i of the cotton crop is 12,500,000 bales, which is much higher than the estimate of a month ago; that of corn 00,000,000 bushels and that of wheat anywhere from 000,000 to 000,000 bushels, even the most san- guine estimate hardly venturing to forecast as high as | 000,000,000 bushels, whereas six weeks ago 623,000,000 bushels was considered a safe calculation. While the disposition always is to magnify dny dis- { aster to a crop, it is undeniable that the wheat crop | has suffered much deterioration during the past few . days from rust. The realization of this caused a sensa- tional flurry on the Chicago Board of Rrade, where quotations for wheat advanced with violent daily fluc- tuations and a large volume of trading. Toward the close of the week a rumor that Armour was actively tving up the September option enhanced the excite- ment and sent the shorts scurrying for cover, which added fuel to the flames. All sorts of scare reports were received from the spring wheat States, chiefly the two Dakotas, though Minnesota and Northern Iowa’' were fair seconds. Rust seemed to be in the air. All crop reports from these States contained the ominous word “rust.”. As the reports multiplied and the scare increased large operators charteéred special trains with automobile attachments and went out into the wheat fields of the Northwest to see for themselves. All sent back gloomy reports. One from a good authority in South Dakota said that the trade would be stunned if it could be brought to realize the damage wrought by rust. An- | other said that the berry was small and shriveled and there was not much even of this. Another said that thousands of acres, promising a few days ago, would not be cut. Europe came along about this time with a reported large deficiency, chiefly in Russia and the ! Danubian provinces, I'rance cut down her estimates to 53,000,000 bushels less than last year, and so on. Chi- | cago is a nervous market at best, and these grisly crop reports simply drove the Board of Trade into an old- fashioned attack of hysterics. But there were some who did not scare very badly. Snow, the statistician, whose word goes a long way in the grain trade, said the damage was overstated. Wall street declined to take much stock in the sensational reports and remarked that this was the time of the year for crop scares. Even Jones of the Commercial West, another recognized authority, issued a statement modi- fying his previous gloomy reports of rust. Still, even the most sanguine admitted pronounced injury to the crop, though they saw in a crop of 350,000,000 bushels a small surplus available for export. A rational view of the situation seems to be that the wheat conditions have become completely reversed dur- ing the past three weeks, both in America and Europe, and that owing to the impairment of the crop in both countries Europe will have to draw on the United States | after all. The loss in weight will be largely offset by the higher price, so the net result of the year will be fair, though many individual wheat growers will suffer. | Regarded calmly, the situation does not appear very ! serious, as the excellent outlook for corn and cotton | is a powerful counterbalance. This is the light in which ! Wall street looks at it, so the stock market, while it “wavcrcd and hesitated under the pessimistic crop re- ports, still retained the buoyant undertone which it has exhibited for some weeks past. The labor strikes continue to exercise a deterrent influence on general business, East and West. Chicago | is the center of the disturbance and reports business in a vague and floating condition, with certain disagree- | able features, one of which is that money is accumulating {in the local banks and depressing interest rates. The | Western packers are great borrowers, not only in Chi- ‘cago but in other money centers, carrying permanent loan accounts of something like $100,000,000, of which | about $40,000,000 is carried by the Chicago banks. Now, the strike, by checking the operations of the packers, has led them out of the market as borrowers, and they are taking up their notes at the rate of about $4,000,000 per week, the total since the beginning of the strike being about $10,000,000. In other words, instead of pay- ing out all this money in supplies and wages, the pack- ers are turning it into the banks in exchange for their maturing notes. The loss to circulation and general trade must therefore be very serious, and illustrates one of the forms of mischief caused by a great labor | strike. In spite of these two adverse influences, however— the damage to the wheat crop and the strikes—commer- cial reports from most sections of the country con- tinue cheerful and indicate the approach of a very fair fall trade. The best reports at present are from the South and Southwest, where collections are good and the distribution of merchandise excellent. Good returns are ,also being received from the Pacific Coast. It is curious to note that the very cities in which, under the | deterrent crop and labor conditions, one would naturally look for poor returns are sending in larger bank clear- ings than last year, the gain at Chicago during the past week being 1.5 per cent, at Minneapolis .4 per cent and at St. Paul 5.4 per cent. Now, Chicago is supposed to be bearing a double burden, being the center of both the wheat séare and the packers’ strike, and still it shows a gain over last year. All the Atlantic seaboard cities show a loss, and the aggregated clearings of the coun- try are down again to about $1,800,000,000, against a normal aggregate of $2,000,000,000. The failures for the week were 230, against 178 for the corresponding week last year. Reports from the staples show some improvement in business. Delayed orders for iron and steel are being placed, but new business is not-heavy. The woolen mills 1eport increasing activity and the raw wool continues very firm. Tanners are actively looking for hides, as the packers’ strike has diminished the supply. Sugar is in active demand and prices have advanced. The for- eign commerce of the port of New York shows a de- crease last week of $1,047,000 in exports and $3,230,000 in imports, compared with the same week in 1903. Locally, we are running along about as before. Some lines are reported quiet and others active. The net result is satisfactorys Prices for everything we produce range from fair to excellent, there is hardly any product of the field or factory that is not yielding a remunera- tive profit, money is plentiful and collections are nor- LABOR AND FREE TRADE. HE first results of the inquiry now being carried T on by the British Tariff Commission has been made public in a report on the condition of the steel and iron industries of the kingdom. The evidence submitted is sufficient to justify, in that trade at least, all that Mr. Chamberlain has ever said of the folly of continuing a free trade policy in the face of the intense industrial competition of our time. It appears that the industry employs upward of 265, 000 persons, and the commission examined representa- tives of plants at which some 235,000 of them are en- gaged. The report, therefore, cannot be objected to on the score of a lack of comprehensiveness. It has covered well nigh the whole field of the industry, and the witnesses were drawn both from the employed and the employing class. The report shows that many works have, within the last ten years, closed down utterly and many more are running on reduced time, so that while in protective tariff countries, like the United States and Germany, the iron and steel output has been steadily increasing, it has been diminishing in Great Britain. ’ The strictly economic results of free trade, as shown ! in the report, are too well known to be worth elaborate review at this time, but there is a comparatively new point brought out by the inquiry that is worth noting. It was asserted by many of the witnesses. examined that the practice of running on short time not only reduced ! the earnings of workingmen, but had an injurious phys- ical cffect and diminished their value as workers. The fact was stated repeatedly in the testimony given before the commissioners and occupies a prominent place in the report. ¥ According to a review given in the London Mail of the report, one witness said: g employed. The men get into a slack sort of way through irregular employment, which has a very serious effect on the efficiency of their labor.” And another said: “I think that in consequence of the intermittent char- | acter of employment our workmen are noticeably de- teriorating in physical condition. The effect of short time is to induce loafing, a condition which they cannot easily get out of again. They are much better workmen when they work full time than half time.” Yet a third says: “I consider that the physical condition of our workmen is deteriorating because we do not keep them fully employed. A man working three days a week is not as good as a man working six.” Facts of that kind stated by men who know and who are first-class authorities on the subject are not to be offset by the theories of academic free traders, and the report of lthe commission is certain to immensely strengthen the position of Chamberlain. The statements are worth noting in this country, too, for while it is not likely the Democrats will urdertake a straightout free trade fight, it is just as well to keep in power the friends of protection, so that there will be no free trade tinker- ing with the tariff. Chief of Police Wittman has given much attention to a redistribution of police districts with a commendable purpose of facilitating a more thorough supervision of the city by night patrolmen. Let us welcome the possi- bility, therefore, that wayfaress in the darkness may look occasionally upon the benign countenance of a guardian of the peace. While the meeting may be startling we will steel ourselves to get accustomed to it. W prompt as ever to begin a campaign by claim- ing everything in sight, they have not ven- tured this year, as in times past, to name the States in which they expect to be successful. They put down the sofid South, of course, as being certain for them, then they claim New York, but that is about as far as they go in the way of specification. For the rest, they are about as willing to claim Massachusetts and Iowa as anything else. It seems indeed as if there were hardly any doubtful States this ‘Year, unless New York and New Jersey be so counted by rcason of the fact that both candidates are from the Empire State. There was a time when Democracy had a fighting chance in Ohio, Illinois and Indiana, but that time has gone by. Indiana has not gone Democratic since 1892. Four years ago it gave McKinley a plurality of over 26,000, while two years ago it gave, in a State election, a Republican plurality of over 35.000. The record of Illinois is even more dis- couraging to Democratic calculations than that of Indiana, for during the past ten years the average Re- publican majority in that State has been upward of 8o,- 000, and two years ago it was nearly 90,000. Since the decline of Populism Kansas has returned to her old allegiance to the party of protection and sound money. publican ranks, can Rardly be counted as doubtful in the Presidential campaign. California is sure for Roose- velt, and the same may be said of all the Pacific Coast States. Under the circumstances, therefore, the ciaim of victory put forth by the Democratic leaders to .en- courage the rank and file of the, demoralized party can hardly be regarded as anything more than what is known on the streets as “hot air.” It will serve, perhaps, to take the chill off the party, but that is all. DEMOCRATIC CHANCES. HILE the Democratic leaders have been as The State Board of Harbor Commissioners for this port have made an official proclamation that grates un- pleasantly on the public ear. Certain classes of employes on the water front have been warned that intoxication during office hours wilt not be tolerated. It is extremely unfortunate that a State commission should be forced to such a measure and worse that it should be compelled to let taxpayers know of its predicament. “Drunk and dis- orderly” is not a condition to be accepted calmly from public servants. 2 —_—— A philanthropic youth, indulging the temptings of a sympathetic chord in his character, stole twenty dollars the other day,’gave the pilfered money to a blind beg- gar, and escaped prosecution by the recital of his unique generosity. While it is generally conceded that charity will cover a multitude of sins, this young man should be taught that the rule is somewhat modified in the current practice of the police courts. Russell Sage celebrated his eighty-cighth birthday a few days since and worked as usual, more perhaps from consideration for what the future inevitably holds than from obedience to a custom cherished in indulgence for more than three-quarters of a century. The old man mal, hence California has no complaints to make as | has not many more days in which to work and even dar as business is concerned, birthdays must not interrupt fidelity to a purpose. “I think there is not the slightest doubt that our labor ! would be very much more efficient if it were regularly | Wisconsin, despite the faction fight in the Re- | Not Grateful. Justice of the Peace Browne of | Vallejo is a jolly individual—off the bench. His merry “ha-ha” and beam- ing smile are known to every man. woman and child in the navy yard town. On the bench, however, he is different. When dealing out justice i to the sailors and marines who, after imbibing too much Vallejo whisky, break the law and to the other | offenders who come before him he Iis sternness personified. Woe betide ‘ the mortal who, with a knowledge of Browne's jollity, presumes upon his good nature when he is arrayed in his robe of office. He Is indeed an unlucky mortal. Quite recently Judge Browne de- termined that his good nature was a handicap. He reached this conclusion | after a session of his court which was prisoners the evils of a life of idleness | and the great scope of the vagrancy law. It happened in this wise: | Among the prisoners haled before the Judge were two men, fairly well | dressed, who had for several weeks made themselves conspicuous by hang- ing about a resort whose reputation was not of the best. They did not work, so they were arrested on a charge of vagrancy. The morning they appeared before Browne they ex- plained they were prospective pur- chasers of the place and the charge was dismissed, after the Judge had | lectured them and told them that idle- | ness was not countenanced in Vallejo. | Both men thanked the Judge and then secured their valuables from Chief of The latter had more ! Police Stanford. | than $100 belonging to one of the | “vagrants,” and this individual as | soon as he received his cash de- liberately picked out two half-dollars | from the pile, walked over to Judge | Browne's desk and dropped the coins in the Judge's hand, saying: “Judge, you are all right. yourself a cigar or two.” What the Judge said, as white faced and fuming he arose and threw the money in the fellow’s face, is not in either the Political or Civil Code. Buy Things and the Man. (Published by courtes; Copyrighted by Mr. Kipling States, 1904.) of Collier's Weekly. in the United | “And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told i1t to his bretheren; and they hated him yet ! the more. sis xxxvil:b. | Oh, ye who hold the written clew To save all unwritte And half a league beh The accomplished fact with flouts and flings, Look. to your knee your baby brings The oldest tale since earth began, The answer to your worryings— Once on a time there was a man. | He. single-handed. met and thre | Magiclans, armies, ogres, kings: He, lonely id his doubting crew, { In all the loneliness of wings He fed the flame, he filled the springs, He locked the ranks, he launched the van | Straight at the grinning teeth of things. Once on a time there was a man. The peace of shocked foundations flew Before his ribald questionings, He broke the oracles in two | And bared the paltry wires and‘ strings: He headed desert wanderings: | He led his soul; his cause, his clan, | | 7 A little from the ruck of things. | Once on a time there was a man. Thrones. powers, dominions block the view ? With episodes and underlings; The meek historian deems them true, Nor heeds the song that Clio sings, The simple central truth that stings ‘The mob to beo. the priest to ban. Things never yet ereated things. Once on a time there was a man. | A bott is fallen from the blue, A wakened realm full circle swings ‘Where Dothan's dreamer dreams anew Of vast and forborne harvestings; And unto him an empire clings That grips the purpose of his plan. My lords, what think ye of these things? Once in our time is thefe a man? A Queen’s Gift. While at an open-air bazaar and fete in the Estrella Gardens recently, the Queen Dowager of Portugal lost a gold bracelet set with diamonds, which she greatly prized as the gift of the late King Luiz on their wedding day. A clogse search of the grounds for the | missing ofnament met with no success. On going home in the evening one of the oldest of the keepers was relating the incident to his wife when their lit- tle 7-year-old granddaughter slipped out of bed and, to their astonishment, | held out the lost bracelet, asking them to look at the pretty round thing she had found in the gardens. Next day the keeper hastened to the palace with the ornament, and on an- nouncing his errand was admitted di- rectly to the Queen, who offered him a £10 note as a reward. The old man, however, proudly declined to accept it, saying he had only done his duty. *“But,” he added, “my wife and I are old, and will soon die. If her Majesty wishes to do something for me let her protect my little granddaughter, the finder of the bracelet, who will be left alone.” The Queen smilingly granted this humble request, and promised to inter- est herself in the future of the child, who is forthwith to be sent to a good school. TALK OF THE spent in explaining to a half dozen! with scholastic mien, his eye fixed ex- pectantly upon his protege, his glance seeming to reiterate that oft repeated maxim, “Speak what is uppermost.” The address was begun with fine ef- fect in the young man's best style and most melodious voice, but soon an air of nervousness and uneasiness began to appear and the orator grew warm and flurried. There came a moment when the flow of fervid oratory in- stantly dried up. The tall form of the young man almost seemed to wa- ver, when suddenly he caught the professor’s eye; a flash of inspiration came to him, dictated. perhaps, by the “sandy desert” condition of his throat. “I'l have a drink,” he said. This was too much for the audi- ence, who knew well that the orator never drank anything stronger than water. But that was the turning peint of the meeting, which came to a suc- cessful close, that moment of self- forgetfulness having given the speak- er an opportunity to collect his thoughts and proceed.—Joe Mitchell Chapple in National Magazine for August. Thibetan High Tea. Tea forms one of the principal ar- ticles of commerce throughout Thibet and Mongolia. The native is miserable without it and when it cannot be ob- tained is willing to cheat himself hy various expedients, such as boiling dried onion heads, herbs, or even an infusion of chips of wood in water, in order that he may not be, at least, without a suggestion of his favorite beverage. The tea imported from China is pressed into small oblong- shaped bricks, made up into cases of nine bricks, securely sewn in rawhide, and not only is used as a beverage, but in fact forms a staple of curren 'y as negotiable as Bank of England notes or American paper currenecy. The native method of preparing this delicacy is not appetizing. The tea is first ground to a fine powder by vigor- ously pounding it in a mortar until no splints of wood or other impurities are vigible to the eye: it is then put into the kettle, when the water Is het, to boil ten or fifteen minutes. By way of giving increased flavor, salt or soda is added, and, this part of the operation being completed, the all-important business of drinking it commences. The family being gathered round the fire of vak-dung, In order that at -osphere, | as the painters would say, should not be lacking, each one draws from some hidden recess in the folds of his vol- uminous sheepskin coat a little wooden bowl, and with a Batisfaction which must be seen to be appreciated fills his private dish with the liquid. All this, however, is by way of preliminar: From a skin full o:i butter, placed within convenient range, each person takes a piece of oleaginous compound and lets it melt into his bowl of steam- ing tea. Then, oh joy! Oh rapture! with furtive grasp he draws the nec- tar to his lips and “heaven is cpemed unto him.” The bowl is again filled, into the steaming liquid he throws a handful of tsamba (parched barley meal) and drawing forth the sodden lump works in into a ball of brown dough with a deft movement of his left hand, and successively bites off pleces of this delicacy and drinks his buttered tea until the visible supply has van- ished, when, in order that his table etiquette may not be impugned, he licks his bowl clean, wipes what super- fluous fat he has not got on his face on his boots, and eagerly looks forward to the moment when gods and fate shall again become propitious.—Outing. Answers to Queries. CARDS—J. Bl A, City. A lady may have engraved either the singular or the plural on her cards to designate her day at home. Thus it may be either the second and fourth Monday or the second and fourth Mondays. LONG VESSELS—C. O., Alameda, Cal. Among the longest sailing ves- that have entered the bay of San Fran- cisco are the following: Bosnia, 435 feet; Hancock, 450.2 feet, Lancing, 356; May Flint, 351, and Theodor, 326.2. CHINESE ARMY—Constant Reader, Geyserville, Cal. For such information as you desire about the Chinege army address a communication to “The Con- sul for China, San Francisco, Cal.,” and inclose a self-addressed and stamped envelope for reply. NATIONAL EMBLEMS-—Subscriber, Fairbanks’ Extremity. A story is told of how in early dny-’ Senator Fairba Republican nom- inee for Vice President, was instructed in public speaking by a certain pro- fessor whose favorite maxim was: “Always speak what is uppermost in your mind, for that is sure to be up- permost in the minds of your audi- ence.” § “Is this necessarily . always the case?” inquired the embrye Senator, to whom this was a new doctrine. “Always,” said the professor, with a finality in his manner that forbade further discussion. Some time afterward the voung ora- tor found himself before an audience in which ladies largely predominated. The room was warm and stuffy. In the front rank sat the aged professor City. The following trees, plants and flowers are recognized as national em- blems: Leek, the emblem of Wales; lily (fleur de lis), of France; lily (giglio blanco), of Florence; white lily, the Ghibeline badge: red lily, the badge of the Guelphs; linden, emblem of Prus- sia; mignonette, of Saxony; pomegran- ate, of Spain; rose, of England: red rose, of Lancashire; white rose, of York; shamrock, of Ireland; thistle, of Scotland; violet, of Athens, and sugar maple, of Canada. —_—— Stores Wanted On main business street. All communi- cations confidential. W. 8. Townsend, Cal. Glace Fruit, 715 Market st. L —_——— Townsend's California Glace fruits in artistic fire-etched boxes. 715 Market st.* —— . 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