The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 11, 1906, Page 9

LL Pages 9t0 12 SAN FRANCISCO, FRIDAY MAY 11, 1908. GZAR NICHOLAS OPENS RUSSIA'S FIRST NATIONAL PARLIAMENT WITH SPLENDID POMP AND CEREMONY Peasant Statesmen in Homespuns Afford Strlklng Contrast to Galaxy of Courtiers e &= J’/,/;—-—f/ffi' L THAT O 77/ REI/\A’NQ OoF ‘%—-j\\ ;MI[UNG PRICE AND ND THE EUCKYNGHRP'\ HOTEL FINANCING PLANS MRE H i Lumber Advance Expected to Be Slight. men say ding lumber that there Capitalists of New York be no cor % struction of San Francisco. This is write Bonds. great - news for thousands of home- e Luilders and others. Sinv;u‘ the begin- Hope to Facilitate the has heen a slight advance in the milimen Th buy tk this advance Erection of Steel Structures. t this added cos! est e made by SR ington Mill there are 000 feet of San Franc Steam and Is are bringing many millions t from Puget Sound, the Colu River, Willapa and other points, will ¢ in a few days. The are principally pine ve there redwood lumber at Antioch that are are great supplies le for the building of San Fran- cco homes. Many acres at Antioch covered with redwood shingles. 4 S ncisco fire, while it de- a large amount of lumber, ss left great stores of build- terial unscathed. Bellingham Bay 1y lost one yard and Talbot, J. H. Kri and the S. Company ved one. Wilson Harmon Co. H. 000,000 bonds ympany will Banks Change Their Locations. OAKLAND, s have fa g of steel structure Harbor ¢ issued a license to the ity Savings Bank at San P to do a savings bank busines 1 tal §25.00, §12.500 paid up. The o i t s ar President, Charles Nicolai; e 1 or 6 per vice presidents, James nd James interest. The ne ation, ac- | H. Dodson; secretary and cashier, A ng to ideas of its its projector 3 The Bank of Southern be §n expedient for meeting transferred from sént need and not a permanent in- Los Angeles, the name ution, and its life may not ex from the Federal Sav- \at of the last issue of its bonds. The Frye is the s ctors will be principaily New York Market-street Bank of San reisco (not the Market-street Bank, ket streets) has trans- pal business Th $100,000, 't patd in. are: d San Francisco men. —_—————————— WHEN SLEEP FAILS Take Horsford's Acid Phosphate a teaspoonful in half a glasg President, T. N. Douglas presi- r just hefore retiring brings dent, Ch Bwing; secretary and P. > Grube 2 T s 2 st Frost Destroys Cotton Crop. | Insurance. DECATUR, Ala. May 10—There w of numerous applications a was another heavy frost t night in SF deparfinent for collection of the Tennessee River Valle In some Iinsuranee losses has- been established, places, it is said. the entire cotton in charge of competent experts. A erop will have 'to be replanted (R 2394 Pine st, near Fillmore. WILL NOT RISE Improvement | saved lumber stocks | May 10.—The Bank Coni- | \ 7 NE= , IL AGENT CONFESSES HE BRIBED One-Time En_lfi)ye of Stan- dard Tells How He Served Trust. CHICAGO, May 10.—The inquiry by the Government through the Inter- state Commerce Commission into the elatic between the Standard Oil mpany and the railroads was com- | ST. PETERSBURG, May 10.—An ideal May day, like a happy augury, greeted the uprising of the curtain for the new act of the great historical drama, Russia’s struggle for liberty. Never did the showy capital of Peter the Great present a more brilliant pic- ture than for the maugux.mun of the Russian Parliament. There was something distinctly awe- inspiring about the day, with visions THE RUINS OF THRE IROQ_UOI< .o tintinabulation of the other belfries, can appreciate the savage splendor of the wild elangor. burg, but at the Kremlin of Moscow beils were rung and te deums were cele- brated, thus giving the occasion the solemn, religious, as well as civil sig- nificance necessary to impress the Rus- sian masses. While the bells were still ringing the imperial yacht Alexandria, with the imperial standard at the fore, moved majestically up the river, dip- ping her flag in answer to the salutes and cheers from the Emperor's war- ships lying at the Baltic works. Instead of proceeding to the Winter Palace the yacht stopped at the land- ing stage of the English quay, below .the Nicholas_ bridge and in front of Leuchtenberg Palace, formerly the American embassy, where the Emperor and the Empress entered a launch, and, aitended -by a launch on each flank, moved up the river. The members of the party made the remainder of the Journey to the Winter Palace in car- | SCENES OF DEST RUCTION IN THE FIRE ZONE OF SAN FRANCISCO. CONTENTS OF - CITY AUDITOR'S - SAFE INTAGT Public Documents of ‘Great Value Unharmed. i | Auditor Horton was highly elated vesterday when the big steel door lead- ing into the main vauit of his office was swung outward on its hinges, re- vealing that the contents were as se- cure as when they were placed there on the afternoon of April 17. This vault contained all of the valu- | able papers and books of the Auditor’s office, $17,000,000 for specific permanent im- huu\'emenm, such as school buildings, | the acquisition of parks, ete, Besides present city officials, - license tags, | books, ‘vouchers, journals, cash books |and financial accounts with the City { Tax Collector, Treasurer | Controller and Treasurer were found {intact. > In fact the Auditor is in a position | to transact business with every other had been an earthquake or a confla- gration in San Francisco. ' At the time the inner door was reached Deptuy Auditor Leary, who worked the combination, found it still warm, but not hot. It is his opinion that had the vault been opened any sooner the contents would have been it ved, as were those of the other two vaults which haa been opened four days ago. Their contents, how- ever, were duplicated books and docu- ments, the loss of which only entails jadditional clerical work to ' replace them. B T S Diamonds and 0ld gold bought. ' Gold- en Gate Loan Office, 950 Pierce st. * including the-bonds issued for | these all of the official bonds of the | and State | {city department as though there never ! menced today. Two of the points upon which it is said the investigation will endeavor to throw light are the matter of the pipelines of the Standard Cora- pany which are laid along the rail« roads’ arlght of way and the purchase of Galena oil by the railroads for head- light and signal purposes. The first witness was B. M. Wilhoit of Topeka, Kaj., now an independent oil operator, who, ten years ago, was an agent of the Standard Oil Company. He said that while in the employ of the Standard Oil Company he had, in following out the instructions of superior officers, bribed clerks in the offices of railroads and employes of in< dependent oil concerns in order to ob- taln information of the details of the business done by the rivals of the Standard Oil Company. He declared that agents of the Standard Oil Com- pany are held personally responsible for all oil sold in their territories by independent companles and that the drivers of tank wagons are expected to keep up their stock by selling 205 to 208 gallons from a wagon-load of 200 | gallons. He sald the actual tests ot {the product of the Standard Oil Com- pany to determine the quality are carefully guarded and that when it was {found necessary ta cut the price to \meet the figure of a competitor a cheaper quality of oil was substituted and was guarauteed to be of a higher |grade thap it rcally was. Mr. Wilhoit said that fully three grades of oil were sold fro the same. tank by ragents of the Standard Oil Company. Several letters were read by the wit- ness in which he was instructed to watch shipments in his territory and report the name of every customer of the independent concerns and the amount and quality of oil received_by him. He said that he had bribed clerks in the offices of the Rock Island, Santa Fe and Missouri Pacific to give him lists of shipments to the customers of independent companies. He told also of bribing teamsters in order to obtaln information. “Cylinder oil is the most profitable #0ld,” said the witness, “and the Standard Oil Company dislikes to have any independent company sell any of this grade. Our instructions were that if we found a competitor selling this oll in our territory to cut the price so jas to get orders and then substitute 'an inferior grade of oil and guarantee it to be of superior quality.” “Dld you ever give short measurd lo of chains falling from another branch of the human race and the Russian people taking up the march of mod- ern civilization. The representatives of the millions and the Russian Em- | peror were at last face to face, and the result was to determine the fate jof the nation and country stretching from Germany to the Pacific, to the Polar Seas and to the burning sands of Central Asia. Notwithstanding the mutual distrust of the Government and people, there was not lacking the hape that the foundation of a sincere understanding between the Emperor and his subjects would be laid strong and deep. WILD CLANGOR OF BELLS. Like all great state functions in holy Russia, the ceremonies began with re- ligious services. At 10 o’clock in the morning the whole city reverberated with bells and chimes from St. Peters- burg’s myriad of churches, cathedrals and temples, summoning the people to thanksgiving. Only those who have heard the booming of the bells of St. Isaac's Cathedral striking bass to the FET A e Sl S L e Iyour customers?” asked Commissioner Prouty. “Well, we dld not call it that,” re- plied the witness. “I was frequently advised by the agents of the company that my stock was not showing up as it should and was told that it was a simple matter to sell 205 to 208 gallons from a 200 gallon load of oil. The com-~ pany explained this by saying that oli expanded in the wagon.” Attorney Miller for the Standard Oil Company broke In at this point to in- quire the scope of the investigation. He said that it was his understanding that the power of the commission was limited to an investigation of the rela- tions of the company with commen carriers and that so far not the slight- est evidence upon that point had been given. He was opposed, he said, to the raking of muck and scandal by go- ing back ten years in history. “For your Information I will assure you that the Standard Oil Company is doing the very same things today,” said Mr. Wilhoit. “] object to that statement,” sald Attorney Miller. Commissioner Clements, in answer to the inquiry of Mr. Miiler, said that it was desired to obtain all the informa- tion ponible and report it for the con- sideration of Congress. riages, escorted by a troop of clatter- ing horse guards. The Emperor's ar- rival was not heralded by the custom- ary salute of 301 guns, and for that rea- son the passage of the river hardly at- tracted the notice of the thousands of spectators who were awaiting along the islands of the river: Without halting at the Winter Pal- ace the launches crossed the river and their Majesties landed under the grim walls of the St. Peter and St. Paul fortress, where they entered by the im- perial water terrace, driving hurried- Iy to the immense cathedral, inside the walls of which repose the remains of the Romanoffs. There, before the tombs of the Emperor's ancestors, the imperial family knelt for ‘twenty min- uies, made their devotions and asked for the blessing and guidance of the Almighty. Then, as their Majesties re- turned to the terrace and re-entered the launch the faint echo of a cheer swept up the Neva. CZAR ENTERS WINTER PALACE. The imperial launch immediately ecrossed the river and entered the Win- ter Palace from the quay entrance. For the first time since the ceremony oi the blessing of the waters, Jan- uary 19, 1905, when the Emperor escaped death from the charge of grape fired from the gun of the saluting bat- tery on the opposite bank of the river, the Emperor and Empress were back in the Russian capital. A little more than two hours later vast hosts of military and civil digni- taries began arriving at the Winter Palace to listen to the Emperor's mes- sage to the renresemames of the peo- ple. Shortly after 1 o'clock, in obedience to signals, the streams of guests be- gan slowly flowing toward the great St. Georges Hall. The entrance of the members of Par- liament, ovor 300 in number, introduced a strangely incongruous element in the glittering assemblage, uniformed in gold lace and sparkling with orders. Most of the members were in evening dress, but many wore ordinary frock coats, and even short coats and yellow shoes. Their ranks were interspersed with moslems in white turbans and kaftans, Tartars in fezzes, a Polish Catholic Bishop in purple robes and orthodox clergy in sacerdotal raiment, and re- tired army and navy officers in uni- form. Most of the members, who came in their ordinary costumes, blouses and high boots, made a strange contrast. The peasants and workmen appeared to be awkward and ill at ease, but resolutlon was stamped on their faces, for it was the first time that the men had dared to appear thus at a state function of the Russian court, where etiquette in the past was so rigorous that it even compelled American diplo~ mats accredited to St. Petersburg to don a uniform. The members of Parliament lined up on the righ: side of the hall as if to offer battle to the glittering array of bureaucrats and courtiers opposite, whose hostile, contemptuous glances showed how little they welcomed the new and dominant force in Russian po- Iitical life. The members of the Council of the Empire and Cabinet Ministers took their plaees on the left of the throna. SPEECH FROM THE THRONE. The Emueror's reception passed off without any untoward incideat. The tone Gf the speech from the throne was Not only at St. Peters-, Extraordinary Precautions Taken fo Safeguard | the Liie of the Sovereign. Speech From the Thronme Is Conciliatory and Urges the Restoration of Peace. I conciliatory. It expressed the Empers or's wish that relief be given to the peasants in their present unfortunate conditions and called upon the mem- bers of the Farliament to put thelr hearts into their work, and to co-oper- ate with him in solving the preseat problems of Russla and in handing down a united and prosperous empire to his successor. The speech was as follows: “The supreme providence which ga me the care of our fatherland has moved me to call to my assistance in legislative work elected representatives of the people. In the execution of & brilliant future for Russia, I greet in your persons thg best men from the empire, whom 1 ordered my beloved subjects to choose from among them- selves, A duruunt work les before you. [ trust that love for your fatherland and your earnest desire to serve it will in- spire and unite you. “I shall keep inviolate the Institu- tions which I bave granted, with the firm assurance that you will devote all your strength to the service of your country and especially to the needs of the peasantry, which are so close o my heart, and to the educatiom of the people and their economical welfaze, remembering that to the dignity and prosperity of the state not only free- dom but order founded upon justice i necessary. “I desire from my heart to See my people happy and hand down to my son an empire secure, well organized and enlightened. “May God bless the work that lles before me In unity with the Council of the Empire and the imperfal Douma, | May this day be the day of the moral revival of Russia and the day for the renewal of its highest forces. “Approacn witn solemnity the labors for which I call you and be worthy of the responsibility put upen you by the Emperor and people. “May God assist us."” The lower house of Parllament was called to order at 5 p. m. by Baron Frisch and Baron Uexkull, Secretary of the Empire, with the hall from balf to two-thirds filled. Baron Frisch read an imperial ukase conveking Parliament and inviting the members to come forward and sign the oath. Professor Mouromtseff, the candidate of the Constitutional Democrats, was elected President of the Lower House, —_————— Missing Bride Returns, OAKLAND, May 10.—Mrs. Xavier Mefret, a bride of four days, who dis- appeared last Thursday from her homs, 1519 1-2 Market street, has returned as mysteriously as she disappeared. Mrs. Mefret declares she went to the home of her mother, Mrs. Annie McKay, 2835 Sixteenth street. San Francisco, was detained there and thence was sent to Portland in the company of a cousin. Mrs. Mgfret says she eluded her rela- tive at Portland and returned to Oak- land and her husband. She intimates that an attempt was made to separate her forever from her spouse because of objections of her relatives to the marriage. Troops to Return Home. OAKLAND, May 10.—The copanies of the Seventh Regiment Infantry, N. G. C., together with Troop D, First United States Cavalry, which have been doing patrol and relief work in this city and in Alameda Ior two weeks, will depart Saturday morning for their home sta- tions in Southern California. They will be succeeded here by three troops of the First United States Cavalry and three companies of the Fifth Regimemt Infantry, N. G. C. Bank Deposits Are Heavy. 2 OAKLAND, May 10.—Clearing-house returns show that deposits in banks are six times greater than with- drawals. ' ——————— Desire Saloons Closed. OAKLAND, May 10.—The Congrega- tional Churches of Oakland, and Berkeley have memorialized the Mayor to close the saloons. mmmufinnmhb"f Francisco el This summer while the city rebuilds. o