The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 24, 1904, Page 8

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 1904. i il On London Boards. Special Correspondence. HEADQUARTERS OF THE CALL, | § HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARD LONDON, Aug. 10.—Prob- y because the theatrical season just ended was one of the worst on record, ndon managers are starting in early aign. The ball will | Cyril Maude with his | the N. Parker, which has auty and the Barge,” is toc be seen in America It will be given here on the A few days later ns operations at the Langtry’'s theater— made to pay thus far— with a al of “Miss Elizabeth's | Prisoner.” This play of the Rr\'olu-" have been a comparative e, but Waller has found er. George Alexander's | appearance in “The Garden of Lies” will occur a few evenings later, to be followed closely by the production of Henry Arthur Jones’ mew play at the Garrick. ter in the season new pieces ed by both Pinero and Barrie a s considerable curio- sity regarding both. Of the announce- ments made for the coming season, however, by all odds the most attrac tive to Londoners are those authorized by Charles Frohman just before quit- | ting these shores to the effect that not Eleanor Robson, but Maude Adams and V je Collier will be seen here before many days. Miss Adams has been promised to London time and again and the promises broken until playgoers here are about convinced that “there ain't no sich person,” but Mr. Frohman guarantees that there will be no mistake about it this time and that the erstwhile “Lady Babble” will be seen in a new play which Mr. Zangwill i+ now writing. Given a worthy “vehicle,” Miss Adams is sure of a hearty welcome. Collier's name is less familiar gver here, but it is sel- dom that an American comedian fails to score in London and reports as to | the good qualities of “The Dictator,” | | | at k only in which he is to be seen, already have reached this . gether, the Taken alto- attitude toward country. general American entertainments on this side | of the water is much more favorable | than it was some time ago. The fail- | ure of “The Climbers,” “Dolly Varden” and “Cynthia”—not to mention several | plays like “The Sword of the King,” which were said to have scored heavily across the water, left a dubious im- pression in the minds of playgoers here. “The Darling of the Gods,” how- | ever, was one of the few emphatic suc- cesses of the winter, and *“The Prince | of Pilsen,” with a hundred nights al- | ready to its credit and, seemingly, | many more to follow, has helped to re- store the prestige of American “shows.” | Incidentally, it is chiefly due to the popularity of certain American spe- cialities that London has had any the- atrical entertainment at all during the dog-days. With the beginning of the warm weather all but seven plays died a speedy death, one of these seven be- ing the luminously popular “Duke of Killiecrankie” and the other six musi- cal comedies. Not considering “The Prince of Pilsen,” it is not too much to say that “The Earl and the Girl” would have expired long ago were it not for the drawing powers of “Sammy,” “In Zanzibar,” “My Cozy- corner Girl” and the other interpolated American songs, and “Bedelia” has from the first been one of the strong- est features of “The Orchid.” The other two survivors are “Veronique” and “The Cingalee,” the first of French origin, but the latter entirely home- made. TR T . Henry Arthur Jones usually can be | §epended upon to supply a fairly novel .plot, though occasionally the play he writes around it leaves something to be desired. The theme of his new Gar- rick piece, however, seems to promise . perticularly well, for it is concerned with the doings of a man who sud- denly finds himself possessed of power to hypnotize those around him. As usual there is a good part for one of the playwright's gifted daughters, e iaitie . Charles Frohman's activity on this side of the water is increasing con- stantly. At the beginning of the com- ipg season he will send out no less than ten companies to ‘play in the provinces. Martin Harvey has long wanted to wlay “Hamlet” and has now decided to put ®o- the Shakespeare play in No- vember, beginning in Dublin. Submarines Perfected. In the British and French navies the submarine has passed its purely experi- mental stage. It has been definitely edopted and ‘n the calculations of fighting strength In the near future it will be jmpossible to leave it out of ac- count. In fact it (s already an item to be reckoned with. Great Britain has only nineteen ships building or bufit; but on the other side of the channel, where they have been devoting atten- tion to the subject for fifteen years past, & large flotilla already exists and many additional boats are under con- struction. Fifteen vessels have been completed for sea and are in the ser- vice, and they are a menace, moral or material, to France's nearest neighbor. No step is being neglected which is cal- culated to throw light on the utility of -~ | were also wsade in February last by | situation from the British point of view | are already being marshaled in large | | Southern States. these boats, their capacity, their influ- ence on the construction of larger ships and their bearing on naval policy gen- erally and the tactical and strategical problems of war afloat. It is unnecessary to recapitulate the achievements of several of the French boats, _s they have been publicly re- porteu ,.rom time to time. They mnot only iflicate that these little vessels | have a practical value, but that the requisite nerve for their employment is possessed in a high degree by the| French officers who have been placed in charge of them. Interesting tests two submarines, or, more accurately, submersibles. It was arranged that| they should make an attack on two French liners in the vicinity of the port, the Espadon looking out for the | Bretagne on its way from Havre to| New York and the Silure tackling the Champagne on her voyage from the| United States. The former managed.to | come within 200 yards of the Bretagne without being observed by the men on | board who were directed to keep a sharp lookout, and the Silure put in an | appearance, also unobserved, until her officer hailed the lookout men on com- | ing to the surface, right between the| two liners when they were within sig-| naling distance of each other and the presumption is that she could have at- | tacked both without being seen. ! Whatever may be szid against the submarines, the French people accept the evidence of the repeated trials as a complete vindication of the large ex-| penditure which has already been sanctioned on the submarines, fifty- eiz’.t in all, which are built, building or projected. In the activity of th Brit- ish Admiralty may be seen further evi- | dence that, in the opinion of the Eng- lish authorities, the submarine has | come and that it behooves them to | hasten to catch up with thefr near) rivals. The unfortunate fact in the | is that British supremacy is based on | a superiority of large ships, battleships | and cruisers, which theke small ships are intended to attack, and science has not yet evolved any effective defense against the most insidious weapon ever fashioned by the hand of man. The British authorities are concentrating their efforts on the development of the submarine torpedo-boat. They believe that the large type now building is a | powerful addition to the defensive weapons of the fleet, able to cruise alone in the open sea or to accompany a fighting force. On both sides of the English Channel these menacing craft | numbers, and it can no longer be de- nied that the submarine has come to| stay.—Archibald S. Hurd, in Forum. A Conquering Army. The colony of Guatemalan ants which Professor Cook, botanist of the United States Department of Agriculture, took | to the Government experiment station | at Victoria, Tex., is being waiched with | absorbing Interest by the experimen- ters. Texas is waiting for t* progeny of that little band of 5000 to march forth into the cotton fields and lift the boll-weevil quarantine that is shutting many of her products out of other So far as the experi- ments have gone, they seem to be en- couraging. A number of facts con- | cerning the appearance of the ants, their habits and their hardiness have been observed and their wide publica- tion throughout the South indicates the seriousness of the search for an effec- tive weevil parasite. It is regarded as encouraging, for example, that only | twelve of the colony of 5000 died on the | way from Guatemala to Texas, while many more than twelve were hatched. It has been settled that the ants are not herbaceous, therefore the cetton plants are safe from them. The ex- perimenters confess, with some reluc- tance, that the parasites do not hunt the weevil; if the cotton pests get in their way, however, as they climb ac- tively about the stalks, the ants have an effective way of killing them. Were it not for the handicap of shortsighted- ness (its field of vision being limited to about an inch) the ant would be likely to accomplish what paris green and special cultivation have as yet failed to do. Natural Fillings. Here is a story from London that rivals the yarn about precious metal in chickens’ crops: “An East End doctor has made a remarkable discovery. A few days ago he was in the house of a friend at Bethnal Green when he picked uip the jawbone of a sheep, noticing a dull gleam of a bronze color on the teeth. ‘Why, that looks like gold,’ he said, after examining the teeth closely. The doctor removed the teeth, took them to his surgery and tested the deposit or coating on the teeth with aquafor- tis. That gave the result as pure gold. Next the teeth were taken to a jewel- er. who scraped off the metal and submitted It to all tests known. The substance was then guaranteed to be pure, fine gold. “Other sheeps’ heads were pur- chased at random from Bethnal Green purveyors and some of them exhibited traces of gold deposit on| the teeth in just the same way. They had all arrived from the Antipodes. English and Scotch sheeps’ heads were obtained, but there was no trace of any auriferous deposit. The in- ference is that somewhere on the vast grazing plains of Australia or New Zealand farmers are feeding their flocks of sheep on pasture so aurifer- ous that the very animals show traces of the outcrop of gold in their teeth.” —St. James Gazette. Kelvin on Radium. In a recent interview Lord Kelvin is ' reported to have expressed himself as being decidedly of the opinion that the source of energy of the heat emitted by radium is not in the element itself. He remarked: "It seems to be abso- lutely certain that if emission of jeat at the rate of ninety calories per xn per hour found by Curie at ordinary :e‘mnmmex‘e‘.h? efven-‘-t ':hel;:wer rate thirty- ous Curie from a specimen xyrt ndun'.’ .‘lg the temperature of liquid oxygen, can ::r::hnw mppli:'dull"rt:' e“lt.h ‘t’-”"n m without.”— ‘Baltimore American. ) ; i N THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor « « « 4 o « « o . . Address All Communications to JOHN McNAUGHT, Manager Puhllat}nnOgen.........................-..................r....-------....'.l‘hlld and Market Streets, 8. F D P P e PR i AUGUST 25 1904 WEDNESDAY ..cooeeeccse TAX REFORM. UR publication of the plans of the State Grange Ofor reform in our system of taxation has attracted general attention. We are in receipt of many let- ters with suggestions of features that might be included in the proposed new system. As we understand the Grange plan, it does not propose to exclude personalty {from taxation, but merely to provide support for the State government by devoting thereto the reveriue de- rived from corporations and State franchises and excise. The corporations and franchises and licenses taxed for State purposes are to be relieved from local taxation, and the support of local government is to be derived from tax on realty and personalty. The plan has the advantage of simplicity and economy, and is alrea}ly justified by its success in older States, where it has ‘long been in approved operation. This leaves the realty and personalty to be dealt with in such a way as to more nearly equalize the burdens of city and country realty, and also to get a more nearly just assessment of personal property. The people of Alameda County have the question of local taxation un- der consideration, and are discussing it in joint meet- ings of improvement clubs and other civic associations. We have to suggest that they direct their discussion to the plans of the State Grange, to the end that a commy- nity of effort be secured with that organization and the city and country representatives in the Legislature may be brought together in a joint endeavor to do something. California has long gone on under awkward and ex- pensive methods of government, because the people have become accustomed to the imperfections under which they groan. But now we are enlarging into a greater California, with a rapidly increasing population and a vast multiplication of interests, and the imperfections in government will touch and affect a greater number of people, and if they impede development, will be a bar to far more interests. Therefore, wherever the machin- ery can be eased in its operations it is wisdom to apply the remedy. Ingenious application of the law can reach seques- tered personalty. There are those who promise to end the difficulties presented by that sequestration by taking all tax off personalty and putting it upon realty. But this is justly opposed by the owners of realty, since it is sure that whenever any class of property is exempted from taxation there will be an immediate tendency to put property in the untaxed form where it has to be pro- tected by the law but will pay nothing for its protec- tion. One suggestion comes to us affecting the assessment of personalty, which may deserve the attention of the experts who are discussing the question. The proposi- tion is to lay a surplus wealth tax. The surplus wealth of a man is that which he owns over and above his debts. We have that system applied to realty by means of the mortgage tax. That tax was provided for an en- tirely different purpose than that effected by its opera- tion. It was supposed that it would be a means of reaching and assessing moneys and credits. But it turns out to be the means of preventing double assessment of property. The owner of a mortage records it, and thereafter sequestration of the personal estate in the mortgage becomes impossible. Therefore, to tax the mortgage to its full value and to tax the land on which it is imposed its full value would be double taxation. So the owner of the mortgaged realty pays only on the surplus value of his land, over and above the amount of the mortgage, the tax on the mortgage being paid by its owner. This is merely a tax on the surplus wealth in land. Applying it to personalty, the owner of $1000 worth of personal property, on which he owes $800, would pay a tax on $200, representing his surplus wealth in that amount of personalty. The man to whom he owes the $800 has that as an asset, properly assessable and tax- able as personalty, under the head of moneys and cred- its. This seems, upon such examination as we have been able to give it, to be the extension to personal property of the principle of the mortgage tax. It will not only avoid double taxation of the same personalty, but will be a means of increasing the assessment of personalty. The man who owes the debt, as a book account, will be very willing to confine his own assessment to his surplus wealth, and to do so must disclose his creditor. In this way all such personal assets as book accounts and commercial credits, outstanding on the day fixed for assessment of property, will be taxed to those who extend the credit, and the surplus value of the property will be taxed to those who receive the credit. The sug- gestion is a good one to discuss among the features of the proposed reform. It will put the assessment of cred- its where it belongs, and ought to add largely to the assessable personalty of the State. The State Grange can get wider public attention to the general icsue it has raised by arranging meetings in the cities, to which its officers and members of its com- mittee on taxation can communicate its views. This will bring about an understanding between property-owners in the cities and the country, and will greatly advance the cause which the Grange has made its own. A Denver woman has submitted as a plea for divorce the remarkable allegation that her husband has been so insufferably good to her that the bonds of matrimony have become galling and she must be free. The lady should receive her decree without discussion. The char- acter she has given to her husband makes him too valu- able as a prize in Cupid's lottery to be retired from the great contest in which women venture so much and re- ceive so little. It would be criminal not to enroll him among the eligibles. — DEMOCRATIC TROUBLES, OT the least among the afflictions that are upon our friends the enemy-is the physical condition of Mr. Davis, their candidate for the Vice Presidency. When he was nominated the papers of his party had much to say about his undiminished physical ard mental powers, and to strengthen the case Mr. Hearst invented 2 bride and a coming marriage for the gay old boy. Now it appears that when he was notified of his nomi- nation at White Sulphur Springs he was found to be decidedly as old as his years. His thoughts wandered and his phrases were tangled like a skein of yarn that a kitten has used for a plaything. Physically the old gentleman doddered on his pins and mentally he was hazy and forgetful. _ The country respects old age and Republicans are not sccond to any in that sentiment. But they are not re- spongible for making t plainly apparent that there is a great- discrepancy between the age of Mr. Davis and the |in America should be brought up among his duties of his candidacy. He had been absorbed in money-making for many years. Outside of West Vir- ginia there were not a thousand Democrats in the coun- try who could remember that they had ever heard of him before his nomination. He was not conspicuous while in public life and certainly had greater talent as a money maker than a statesman. His nomination had not been discussed in advance. He was unknown to the party. His affiliations had long been with his partner Rockefeller, J. Pierpont Morgan and that circle of high financiers who have been exploiting the coal, iron and oil interests of West Virginia, using him as the local promoter. He had had no contact nor sympathy with the Demo- cratic rank and file and had dwelt far apart from them for many years. His age, added to the fact of his long withdrawal from everything and all interests except the increasing of his immense fortune, made his nomination a thing important because it had no natural justification. Now the party is disillusioned by the demonstration that he shows every year of his great age and is already in a condition of physical decadence. There is left one solace for the mourning Democracy, however. The old gentleman’s purse is a yearling, with all the energy of youth. If that doesn’t dodder it is all right, and its owner’s age will be no bar to his candi- dacy\. The California commission at the St. Louis Exposition is authority for the startling accusation that we are send- ing to the great fair fruit so poor in quality and deficient in appearance as to jeopardize seriously the impression we sought to make and which by our product we are en” titled to receive. This unfortunate result, not to be ques- tioned when announced by such an authority, should shame our fruit growers into an immediate effort to remedy the damage and to win before the close of the fair the laurels which are justly their own. T worker for the cause of humanity—comes in for a goodly meed of praise in the August number of the California Promotion Committee’s publication, “For. Cal- ifornia.” Not only is high honor paid to-her unselfish devotion to the duty of keeping ever warm the nest egg, but her merits as a money-getter and a harbinger of prosperity are displayed with zealous care. In- deed, with this faithful bird, as yet unalterably partisan to the principle of the open shop, we need fear no meat strikes or packing-house walkouts, according to the word of her enthusiastic panegyrists. H. Q. Woodworth, in an a le on the practical value of poultry raising in California, states that a conserva- tive estimate places an annual profit of $1.25 upon each hen. Out here on the coast, where climatic conditions are so favorable and the expenses of providing substan- tial shelters for poultry are consequently eliminated, the cost involved in the raising of chickens on an extensive scale is at a minimum and a higher ratio of profit is in- sured the raiser than in any portion of the East. come about, therefore, that we now may count poultry- raising as one of the sound industries of the State and ane yet to be developed beyond its already profitable status. As emphasized in the many artic‘l;s- of this pouitry number, the raising of chickens both for market and for the egg supply is a venture which any one with small capital can make and with almost certain hopes of suc- cess. It takes no great outlay to embark in the poultry business—a broad field, a little fencing, some sacks of food, and the trick is done. From a hundred fowls on an acre of ground there should come a first year's in- crease that covers all initial expenses and leaves a mar- gin of profit besides; for the hen, we are assured, flour- isheth as the green bay tree if given only half a chance. Place is rightly given in the Promotion Committee’s publication for a nctice of what is being done by the State poultry station at Petaluma. This institution, au- thorized by the last Legislature, has already done much for poultry raiscrs in the line of experiment and prac- tical demonstration of scientific methods. Through bul- leting the results of investigation into diseases of fowls have been rublisned and co-operative experiments car- ried on through the station’s agency have been of im- mense value to all interested in poultry culture. Thus it is that this new and rapidly rising industry has its foun- dation upon scientific principles and develops along the raticnal lince of scientific method. THE DAY OF THE HEN. HE oprolific Petaluma hen—that conscientious THE PRESIDENT AND THE FARMER. HROUGH the many expressions of President T Roosevelt runs a hearty note of appreciation for the homely and simple features of life as found in the country and on the farm. He said to the rugged peo- ple of Maine in 1002: “The man on the farm, more than any of our citizens to-day, is called upon continually to exercise the qualities which we like to think of as typi- cal of the United States throughout its history—the qual- ities of rugged independence, masterful resolution and individual energy and resourcefulness. He works hard, for which no man is to be pitied, and often he lives hard, which may not be pleasant, but his life is passed in healthy surroundings, -which tend to develop a fine type of citizenship. In the country, moreover, the conditions are such as to allow a closer touch between man and man than too often we find the case in the city. Men feel more vividly the underlying sense of brotherhood and community of interest.” . And again: “The man who tills his own farm, whether on the prairies or in the woodland, the man who grows what we eat and the raw material of what we wear, still exists more nearly under the conditions which obtained when ‘the embattled farmers’ of 1776 made this country a nation than is true of any others of our people. In a country like ours it is fundamentally true that the well- being of the tiller of the soil and of the wage-worker is the well-being of the state.” Roosevelt's vital touch with things is always respon- sive to a contact with the natural conditions that char- acterize life on the farm. In an allied vocation he re- sorted to the wilderness to rid himself of the serious handicap of a frail physique, and emerged from that rug- ged experience physically a type of the American man, firm, broad-shouldered, deep-chested and with endurance equal to the performance of the hardest tasks. His con- tacts with the people have inspired his philosophy, ex- pressed in this: “An American who is to make his way fellow Americans.” That is true, for what can be expected of a man, expatrigged in his childhood, educated and reared abroad, with no knowledge of his country and his coun- trymen? G Vi It has | AND, i T L"- ‘A Just Rebuke. Out in the Mission there is a little white-haired old woman, who by hun- dreds of young men in the district is called “mother.” She is a gentle old soul and goes about from cigar stand to cigar stand and offers for sale to the young fellows who congregate at these places cheap paper covered novels. Her sales are not many, but she earns enough to supply her few wants. ‘When her wares are refused it is al- ways with a kind “Not to-day, Mother,” or “Some other time, Mother.” A few nights ago she was slowly walking along Sixteenth street offer- ing her books for sale. At a cigar stand not far from Mission street there were a number of young fellows stand- ing about. Several of them bought of her and as she was turning away a young fellow, whose appearance indi- cated that he had been Indulging a little too freely, commenced badgering her. She smiled at his drunken jests, but did not answer him. Finally he said with a hiccough, “Don’t you think, Mother, you would sell more books if you were young and good looking?” “The little old lady smiled a wan smile and a big tear rolled down her cheek. “My son,” she said, taking the youth by the arm, “I was ydung once. I was also good looking. In those days every one respec.!ed gray hairs.” Conscience. A passehger on a Guerrero street car recently had an opportunity to study, unobserved, the struggle between con- science and cupidity in a little ten- year-old girl. The conductor failed to collect her fare immediately after she entered the car. She had the required nickel in her hand and she watched him furtively for a time to note whether he would overlook her en- | tifely. She was apparently in a quandary what to do and then conscience com- menced to perform its subtle functions. Several times she held out her hand in a hesitating manner. Meanwhile the nickel was carefully concealed between her fingers from the view of the con- ductor. After making this abortive pretense of paying several times con- ence was triumphant and the next time the conductor passed she held out the fare boldly and there was no mis- taking her intention. { There was a satisfied look on her ckubby face when the fare was reg- istered, but it is doubtful if she real- ized how great a victory she had won and what an influence that simple in- cident might have in shaping her char- acter. The Royal Crease. (Special advices from London state that King Edward has two sets of | creases arranged diagonally, so that his | trousers hang absolutely square.) Let all the men with bandy legs Arise and shout and sing. King Edward has alighted on A most astounding thing, A thing to revolutionize— Will wonders never cease? For down each trouser leg he wants To start a brand new crease. Hoopla, Hurrah! And now the men whose warped May save their shattered nerves, And walk along the thoroughfares And not display their curves; For this new wrinkle in the clothes, The royal ones declare, Will work a miracle of grace And make the pants hang square. Hoopla, Hurrah! legs are How great it is to be a King And wear a regal crown, And over all the common dubs In grandeur to look down! And now that we, if we desire, Our person to enhance, May put a dozen creases in Our splendid royal pants. Hoopla, Hurrah! —Chicago Chronicle. The Transvaal Mines. Ever since the Boer war, and espe- cially during the campaign to author- ize Chinese labor, the Transvaal mines have been “talking poor.” The recent ! sharp declines in South African mine shares at London has been partly a consequence of this attitude. Yet a suspicion of humbug has surrounded the whole affair, and many unbiased people have suspected that the mine owners’ plea of distress was merely a maneuver to make sure of permission to use what is virtually slave labor. The following remark, on the present earnings of the mines, is from the London Financial Times, which is itself an advocate of Chinese labor: The rate of profit has, of course, been kept down by the labor insuffi- clency, but that there has been re- cently some improvement in this re- spect has been demonstrated by the dividend declarations made within the past month or so. Of these interim distributions on account of the current year over 40 per cent are at an In- creased rate as compared with the cor- responding period of 1803, and th_o total sum Involved is over two millions sterl. ing, so that the anticipated total for the year of from £4,500,000 to £5,000,- 000 does not seem unduly sanguine. If the latter sum be attained 1904 will constitute a fresh record in respect to dividends also, the largest amount dis- tributed in respect to cne year's opera- tions up to the present having been £4,822,358 in 1898, Minister Takahira. Minister Kogoro Takahira, Japan's representative in Washington, is a sol- idly built little man, with an expres- sionless face, aggressively pompadour halr and square, heavy jaw. He first cmetfolhhmn—ymm"m tary of the legation and subsequently held numerous important posts at home and in Europe. He stands English TALK OF THE TOWN | OF L4 steady, relentless fashlon and along lines of such careful organization that | he turns out more of the finished pred- uct than the average two of his staff. Excess of Gold Imports. Two facts immediately impress the student of the fiscal year's showing of gold exports and imports—the magni- tude of the total movement, and the fact that, despite the unprecedented $40,000,000 lump-sum remittance to France, gold imports exceeded exports. As for the first point, gold exports and imports combined foot up $180,567,000 for the twelvemonth past, whereas 1903 gave only $94,072,000, and the highest previous record was $145,934.- 000, in the fiscal year 1896. That period, too, was a time of gold ship- ments under special contract, the Bel- mont-Morgan syndicate having under- taken to deliver $65,000,000 gold to the Treasury, “one-half of which shall be obtained in and shipped from Europé.” The equally striking fact is, that de- spite the $60,000,000 gold shipment of April and May to Paris, and the $21.- 000,000 earlier exportations, imports for the twelvemonth exceeded exporis. This rather remarkable result was brought about: During that period, Japan has sent us something like $35.- 000,000 gold, largely in transit. From the Klondike we have drawn $20,000,- 600, from" Mexico $10,000,000 and from Australia $7,000,000; these were | new gold supplies. But even these large receipts would not have counter- balanced the heavy exports, but for $22,000,000 gold wrenched foreibly irem Lendon last November and December, when the United States literally made the English market pay cash for its heavy purchases of high-priced cotton. —New York Evening Post. Concerning Bloodstones. “Most persons know very little about the stone of which they so glibly talk,” remarked J. W. Beath. “Very few have any idea of what a blood- stone is, though the red-spotted green heliotrope commonly goes by that name. Here are two pieces of real bloodstone, the bloodstone of the an- clents. As you see, they are black. By rubbing one on the other I draw what looks to be blood. Touching it to my hand it leaves a blood-like stain. No, there’s no trick about it. These bits of black stone are simply hema- tite, and hematite is the real blood stone. Not one person in 10,000 seems to know this."—Philadelphia Record. Adjourned. An old Georgia darky who was hang- ing around the Capitol for some time before the adjournment of the Legisia- ture was heard to exclaim when the session ended: “Well, suh, I been waitin' here ter see ef I could git a $5 bijll, en, please God, here I stands adjourned!"—At- lanta Constitution. Answers to Queries. RUSSIA'S EMPEROR—K. L. E, Folsom, Cal. The present Emperor of Russia is the son of Alexander III, who married Princess Maria, daughter of Christian IX of Denmark. The wife of the Emperor is Princess Alexandra Alix, daughter of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. LICENSE—A. C., Kelseyville, Cal In the city of San Francisco those who sell goods at a fixed place of business are not required to pay a license, but those who sell goods from a.wagon on street corners, going from corner to corner, are considered peddlers and are required to pay a license. AEROLITES—E. C. J.,, Jewett, Cal Aerolites and meteoric stones have no market value. Secientific societies or museums might be willing to pay some- thing for such. If you have anything in that line communicate with the Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, or with the curator of the Golden Gate Park Museum, same city. THE CABINET—M. C., Crockett, Col. The following named composed the Cabinet of President Roosevelt on Aug- ust 10, 1904: John Hay, Secretary of State; L. M. Shaw, of the Treasury; W. H. Taft, of War; Paul Morton, of the | Navy; E. A. Hitchcock, of the Interior; | James Wilson, of Agriculture; Victor i H. Metcalf, of Commerce; H. C. Payne, a gun is the sudden expansion of the powder into many times its bulk acts Theé resistance offered by the ball, which moves more or less easily in the bore, being far less than that of the ———— Special information supplied daily to Emn‘w.:); cz.n.: