The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 18, 1906, Page 8

SATURDAY EDITORIAL PAGE AUGUST 18,1906 The San Francisco Call JOHN D. SPRECKELS. ........cc0cuvees....Proprictor CHARLES W. HORNICK .....0000000000.....General Manager ERNEST S. SIMPSON ....Managing Editor C. J. oW .Business Manager Address All Communications to THE FRANCISCO CALL. ect You With TELEPHONE—Ask for The Call. The Operator Will Co: the Department You Wish, ..Market and Third Streets, San Francisco ck Every Night in the Year. Market and Third Streets 1651 Fillmore Street, Near Post Telephone OaklanA 1083 ..Telephone Alameda 559 A OFFICE—1435 Park Street...... ZLEY OFFICE—2148 Center Street Telephone‘ Berkeley 77 OFF" Marquette Bldg..C. George Krogness, Representative CE AGO NEW YORK OFFICE—30 Tribune Bldg..Stephen B. Smith, Representative STON BUREAU—1406 G Street N. W..M. E. Crane, Correspondent SUBSCRIPTION RATES. 20 Cents Per Week. 75 Cents Per Month. Coples § Cents. , Including Postage (Cash With Order): acluding Sunday), 1 vear .... : : luding Sunday), 6 months. Single y Carrier, ..$8.00 4.00 75¢ 2.50 e ... 1.00 $8.00 Per Year Extra Sunday E 4.15 Per Year Extra | Weekly . .. 1.00 Per Year Extra ered at the United States Postoffice as Second-Class Matter. MASTERS ARE AUTHORIZED TO RECEIVE SUBSCRIPTIONS. nple Copies Will Be Forwarded When Requested. ers in ordering change of address should be particular to give NEW AND OLD ADDRESS in order to insure a prompt and orrect comp e with their request. ¥ CALL, Daily bott OPPRESSION OR BLACKMAIL—WHICH? ordi ce that proposes to give the Board of Health arbi- ) remove patients afflicted with communicable | sort of pesthouse is radically vicious and dan-| conditions its enforcement would be| Y power t« liseases to som gerous. In n | e pesthouse is the last resort of despair. It is a confession ipetence on the part of the medical authorities except in ex- The use of a pesthouse is a measure of panic. exi ¢ cases. Now s proposed by ordinance to permit the Health Board to ve ering from typhoid or other forms of low fever 1e hospital—in other words a pesthouse. THe fact that » decent or humane accommodations now available for| s purpose does not appear to dampen the ardor of the Board of| 1t its pursuit of arbitrary power. Most people in San Fran- w by reputation the character of the only existing insti- T isolation of such diseases. They know the pesthouse re lepers and other unfortunates suffering from loath- confine The institution may be a necessary To extend its scope would be sheer barbarity. e d communicable diseases is long and varies ery doctor’s mouth. In the creed of some consumption is a imunicable disease. Nobody knows where the list begins or ends. nary quarantine precautions are sufficient in the general fever and smallpox cases. If necessary, the hotise can be under guard at the expense of the householder. In the refugee ps the management of such cases is already under the jurisdic- tion of the Board of Health and can be dealt with in accordance with a wise and humane discretion. . t understand the eagerness of the Board of Health enlarged powers an extreme kind under cover of emergency. The people of San Francisco have come by | ce to regard that board with much suspicion. It never misses | to do politics or “business.” To extend to such an institu-| ry power of sentence to the pesthouse on a doctor’s | d be to create a weapon that might be used either for n or blackmail. A DISGRACEFUL SCANDAL. 1€ cases, of stern says that the battleship Texas will re be used as a sort of naval “boarding-house” at the rleston station. Uncle Sam appears to have been keeping| boarding-house or something worse on the Independence| sland. Lovely woman—God bless her!—does not make a ith the articles of war and the navy regulations. commander in petticoats burst upon an astonished | obscurity of Fort Walla Walla, Wash., claiming her sometime hired girl. Just now the boarding- | on the receiving ship Independence is buzzing| use of the boozy intrusion of a woman of no repu- | and a strange condition of discipline is uncovered | instruction of a wondering world. formed, for instance, that “all the ladies liked Dunn,” seems, was not altogether good luck for Dunn. It is whis- the teacups that possibly his enormities might have been rlooked had Dunn liked all the ladies. There appears to have a k of reciprocity. tenant Dunn appears to be a rather weak-minded young 1 an appetite for hot and rebellious liquor. He will doubt- e the penalty that he has earned, but it is right to inquire, public is entitled to know, how long the conditions revealed e Mare' Island court-martial have been permitted to continue. 'n orgies became a scandal on the ship; a notorious woman and dined at the wardroom mess; the captain of to order a subordinate to spy on Dunn. It would on a properly commanded ship it might have been possible these scandalous proceedings at an earlier stage. PAY THE DEBTS. dispatch ever, was introduced the ip saw fit :NERNEY tells the relief committee that it is to pay its debts first of all, and if there be anything left over it can build houses for the refugees. undoubtedly right. The relief fund was not contributed to be >d away on real estate schemes, but to be paid out for the cdiate needs of the fire sufferers. The creation of a corporation in perpetuity, contemplating speculation in real estate and dealing in building contracts, is altogether foreign to the purposes of the st and is franght with the gravest dangers, from which the men who have rashly engaged on this dubious enterprise are likely to be the chief sufferers. Desides, the committee is not building houses. Father Crowley is at work on his houses, but the committee is stil thinking. It would be more to the purpose to pay what is due. That is about as good a form of rehabilitation as can be devised. AN ENCOURAGING EXAMPLE. HE example of Baltimore is inspiring for San Francisco. Two years and a half ago 151 acres in the heart of Baltimore were burned over; today 9o per cent of the district has been rebuilt. Few vacant lots remain and these will soon be occupied. The Baltimore Sun, making a report of progress thirty months after the fire, says that the buildings erected are “remarkable for convenience and architectural beauty” and include twelve sky- in and it still holds. We find already a similar condition in San Francisco and there is no doubt that it will be as lasting as it has proved in Baltimore. N We had a bigger fire in San Francisco. It covered a far greater area. Also we are having some trouble collecting insurance, but the result will be the same here as in Baltimore. It may take more time, but it is inevitable, because the location of great cities is not a matter of chance. They are created by the logic of circumstances and if proof of this is asked for it will be found in the rebuilding of Chicago, Boston and Baltimore on the sites devastated by portentous 19] Mr. McEnerney is| conflagrations. Cheerful Workers. “Board of Works” is a misnomer. S gets from and gives to the city it ought to be called the Board of When one figures what it I Liability Law as to French Em- | ployers Is Far Reaching. — NITED STATES VICE CON- SUL GENERAL A. E. IN- GRAM, at Paris, supplies the following summary of the scope and effects of the French employers’ lia- bility act of April 12, 1906: “The act of the 12th of April, 1906, is of considerable moment to all ‘those engaged in commerce in | France as having a most important | bearing upon the relations o employ- {ers and employed in the event of accident, for this new law extends to | all commercial enterprises without ex- | cepting the provisions of the act of | the oth of April, 1898, which hitherto applied only to manufacturers and a limited number of trades. Prior to 1898, negligence or fault on the part of the employer had to be proved to enable a workman or his representa- tives to obtain compensation in case of accident, and the aim of this act was to substitute for this regime, under which the fullest compensation was awarded in the comparatively rare cases where such proof was pos- sible, a system of more limited com- pensation applicable in all and every case of accident whether due to negli- gence or to mere chance. The basis adopted for the assessment of this limited compensation was that of an equal division between employer and employed of the pecuniary conse- quences of every accident, and the following summary of the provisions of the act of 1808 will illustrate the application of this principle: “The annuity to the widow or widower, to be payable during- life and to correspond to 20 per cent of the annual wages of the deceased, and annuities to the children to vary between 15 and 40 per cent of the annual wages, according to the num- ber of children, payable up to the age of 16; the annuities to the children to reach even 60 per cent in the event of their being left orphans. Should a widow or a widower remarry the annuity granted ceases after payment of a lump sum representing three years’ annuity; but the children’s an- nuities continue to be paid. , In the event of the deceased lea‘ing no widow, widower or children,’ an annuity of 10 to 30 per cent is allowed to other relatives. “As an example, a workman earn- ing annually 1500 francs ($289.50), killed by an accident, leaves a widow aged 35 and three children under 10 years of age. An annuity of 300 francs ($38.50), or 20 per cent, is al- lowed to the widow and an annuity of 525 francs ($101.32), or 35 per cent, to the children. These annuities, capi- talized, represent about 10,500 francs ($2026.50). “In case of total disablement from work the victim of an accident re- ceives a life annuity of 66 per cent of his annual wages before the accident, y and in case of partial disablement only he receives an annuity corresponding to one-half of the ‘loss of wage-earn- ing power’ caused by the accident. For example, the loss of a leg is generally estimated by the courts to be equivalent to 70 per cent ‘loss of wage-earning power,” so that after an accident of this kind a workman earning 1500 francs ($280.50) annually would receive an annuity of 525 francs ($101.32), or 35 per cent, which, sup- posing him to be 30 years of age, represents a capital of about 9500 francs ($1833.50). : “For accidents causing temporary disablement from work the workman receives half the daily wage he was earning at the time of the accident until his complete recovery or until such time as the temporary disable- ment shall have become a permanent L NE of the notable events of the O season will take place today in San Rafael, when Mr. and Mrs. John F. Boyd will formally present their charming young daughter, Miss Louise Boyd, at a large recep- tion at their beautful home, Maple Lawn. The hours of the reception will be from 3 to 6 and about five hun- dred invitations have been sent out. It is something quite unique in the | social annals of San Francisco that one of the season's debutantes should be presented thus early in the year and at an out changed conditions make it far more delightful than had Miss Boyd waited until later and come out at an event here in town. The house will be charmingly deco- rated for the occasion and the. guests will be received in the handsome grounds as well. Assisting Mrs. Boyd and Miss Boyd in receiving will be Mrs. A, W. Foster, Mrs. 1. Lawrence Poole, Mrs. Carter Pitkin Pomeroy, Mrs. George Gibbs, Mrs. Benjamin: Dibblee. Miss Genevieve Haryey, Miss Dorothy | Eells, Miss Natalie Coffin, Miss Claire Nichols, Miss Edith Berry, Miss Janet | Coleman, Miss Janette von Schroeder, Miss Anna Foster, Miss Lou Foster, Miss Mazie Langhorne, Miss Sara Coffin, Miss Julia Langhorne, Miss Ethel Tompkins, Miss Bessie Ashton and Miss Hcl‘en C.hcseb‘rough. Mrs. James Cv.;nni_nglum and Miss Sara Cunningham, who have been here for the past few weeks on a brief scrapers. A splendid modern city has arisen in thirty months. Closely following on the fire a period of remarkable activity set business trip, will leave in a few days for Beloit, Wis., where they have been soending the summer and where the i f-town affair, but the j s disablement, when the half wages are replaced by the compensation pro- vided for total disablement. All medi- cal and pharmaceutical expenses, as well as hospital and funeral expenses, to be borne by the employer. “In spite of the completeness and precision of the text of this act, a great deal must necessarily depend upon the views of the court called upon to administer its clauses, and it is only natural, in view of the rela- tions between employers and work- men in France at the present time, that they should incline toward a liberal interpretation. Especially is this the case in the assessment for the total ‘loss of wage-earning power.’ Evidence of a tendency to increase the liability of employers is afforded by the act of March 31, 1905, which is sggglementnry to the act of April o, 1808, and which other liabilities, the payment of half wages from the first day after the ac- cident in all cases lasting more than ten days instead of from the fifth day after, as was originally provided. “The fact that this legislation was limited to certain trades gave rise to much_ controversy, and the courts of law differed widely in their interpreta- tion of its extent. Generally speak- ing, and in addition to industries such as mines, quarries, building and all work necessitating the use of ma- chinery worked otherwise than by hand, all trades involving ‘manufac- ture’ or transforming materials of any kind were judged as coming within the scope of the act; but even these definitions did not entirely dispose of all difficulties, and it is still an open question as to whether bakers, butch- ers and various other trades can be considered as belonging to this latter category. | “The evident unfairness to work- men belonging to industries not com- ing under the act and a desire to make the act more far-reaching soon caused a movement toward including in its scope all possible categories of work- ers, and it is this recent act of April 12, 1906, which definitely deals with the question and finally disposes of the doubts which still subsisted as to the relative position of various trades. All commercial enterprises, with the sole exception of agriculture, are now subjected to these employers’ liability acts. Some little time, hofever, must elapse before the new act becomes operative, as certain administrative measures have to be carried out with regard to the imposition of a small tax on all commerce. The proceeds of this tax will be used by the state for the formation of a fund to guarantee workmen in a certain measure against bankruptcy of employers or of insur- ance companies in which employers have covered their liabilities. “A clause of the act renders it im- possible’ for this delay to extend be- ond the end of the present year, and it is thought that, until the measure becomes operative, the courts and all those who may be concerned will take their inspiration from its provisions. Many employers have for a long time past taken the precaution of protect- ing themselves by means of insurance against all possible liability, both in respect of common law and this new | act; and in this connection may be quoted the words used in the Senate on March 27 by a French official in charge of the extension of commer- cial enterprises, as follows: ‘The business man has, moreover, the power, which it is prudent for him to exercise, to insure himself, and the insurance premium can enter into his general expenses, be embodied in the product of his industry, and so be car- ried forward in the sum total of ex- stipulates, among | penses.’” * + Waiting for a Job. b Ty By Frederick W. T has been said that the conduct I of life is not a science, but an art. Admitting in a measure this definition the logical conclusion is that much in life is«simply reflex, mechanical rather than mental; much that is environment rather than in- nate. If this be true of the individual the same is true of the community, which is simply an accretion of indi- viduals. Individuals and communities alike demonstrate type characters. San Francisco is, or was, strong in type characters. We say “was,” be- cause her present stage is one of evo- lution toward a g'pm San Francisco since April 18\ differs from San Fran- cisco prior to that date. That is a matter for future consideration; we desire to dwell upon a few of the suggestions which presented them- selves in the period of disintegration when the old ethics of the community were grinding in confusion as the sudden arrest of routine life broke the mass into its component parts, social drift wood, apart and distinct, but destined ultimately to cohere and re- form; a community modified alike by its coercive birth, necessities and en- vironment. San Francisco was autocratic in effect, but not by confession; self- laudatory, but slovenly; imperious, but lacking in self-respect; mistaking size for greatness; spontaneous rather than creative; emotional rather than stable; fraternal rather than brotherly; a community novel and attractive rather than winsome. The brand was popular and the tvpe assimilative. Thus faceted the citi- zen was semi-conscious of an individu- ality which had not its exact counter- part in any other section of America, if, indeed, in any other center of civi zation. Thus_constituted as was his wont the citizen retired to rest April 17 as he had done for many years and as he expected to do for many more to come. He had at times certain signals suggestive of possible up- heaval, but they left no impression. Why should they? “It was San Fran- cisco,” and that for him was sufficient guarantee for immunity, so he con- cluded. But the 18th came—it came rudely, unintroduced. Even the apers were uninformed; that was in itself unpardonable. The citizen awoke annoyed by the manner ot awakening, not dismayed. The coarse intrusion was persistent; this was perplexing, and more in resentment e The Smart Sel .o . rest of the family are now. It is a matter of great regret that their stay here is to be so short and it is hoped that they will come to San Francisco for the winter. ' Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Spreckels, who have been living in Oakland sicne the fire, have taken the George Shreve house at San Mateo for six months and will go down shortly. Mr. and Mrs. Shreve will return to town as soon as they are able to find a house, their own town house being rented also. * TR Mr. and Mrs. Henry:Crocker and their family, who returned last week rom a trip to Japan, have postponed their departure to their country home at Cloverdale and may decide to re- main in town for the rest of the sum- mer and fall. ;e Mrs. W. L. Merry, Miss May Miss Mary Hill” and Mrs. Bryant, who are at present in Sausa- lito, where they ha\g spent_the sum- mer, expect to come to -San Fran- cisco about the end of September and will remain here until about Novem- ber, when Mrs. Merry and Miss May Merry will leave for their home in Costa Rica. % Merry, S, iy * * * Miss Sidney Davis, who_returned from a stay at Tahoe last month, is seriously ill at her home on Pacific avenue, For a few days typhoid was feared, but this has been prevented and she is slightly better. Mrs. Davis is here, but Miss Edna Davis and Mr. Davis are still at Tahoe and will be absent for several weeks longer. * * * Mrs. L. L. Baker, Miss Kate Stone, Miss Helen Baker and Miss Dorothy Baker are at present in Lucerne, but expect to leave sh tly for Paris for a few weeks’ stay, going back probably to Lucerne. It is possible that they will return here in the late fall—the end of November or thereabouts—or they may decide to remain abroad all winter. o Mrs. Samuel Welch, who was for a time living in Berkeley, left about a month ago for the East and is the guest of her sister, Mrs. Fleming, at the latter’s home on Lake Geneva, ‘Wisconsin. * * * * Mrs. Henry Clarence Breeden, who has spent the summer with her mother, Mrs. Butler, at the latter’s home in Santa Barbara, will return to town about September 1, to remain during the winter. * * * Mr. and Mrs. Willard F. William- son, who were for a time in Ross Val- ley, have gone to Oakland and will remain there until their new home at Piedmont, situated next,the Butters and Barraclough places, is completed. They expect to make their home there for the next few years, but will cventualhy return to San Francisco and build on their, property near the Presidio wall on First avenue and Jackson street. * * Mr. and Mrs. Arthur B. Watson have returned from Mill Valley, where they resided during the summer months and are at their home, 2511 Pierce s‘reet. S * * * Mrs. William Grant Morrow, who finds the climate of usalito. too severe for her health and that of her little sons, has closed her lovely home there for the present and has taken a "house on the Berkeley hills for two vears. 3 The Ethics of the Calamity. than in fear he made his way to the street, not for safety, but in hopes of a field for explanation. . There we found him—a proprietor in front of his property; a landowner, secure in his titles, his head on one side, his fists partially clenched and his arms half akimbo, his entire be- ing translating his uppermost thoughts in unmistakable sign lan- guage. “Who dared to hit "Frisco?” Not a word escaped his lips. Slowly, reluctantly, regretfully, the full argu- ment dawned upon him—the test was supreme; he was in travail, being born again. He saw himseclf as he saw the image totter; in a twinkling of an eye the old was passing away, not a mirage, but a reality. It was glorious to watch him evolve. The struggle was keen, the reaction sharg. e emerged with full credit. elf-de- tached from his personalities he rev- eled for a brief period in the strange- ly fascinating spell outborn of the im- mensity of the change that if it at one and the same time despoiled him also made him free from all responsi- “bility. Some “agency, that for the im- ‘mediate at least ignored man’s inter- ference had done all this; he, citizen though he was, was a free irrespon- sibility. The sense of that freedom rapidly canceled the revulsion to the awakening and its penalty. The old routine was obliterated, the customs of the day wiped out. He was so far an observer, but not a participant. His entire connection with his fellow- man was severed—no master, no ser- vant; no merchant, no clerk—all were simply human entities in the great nature field; earth, trees, rocks, men, all alike common wayfarers. This sensation of oneness was soothing— it seemed fraternal to be thus in- cluded. Nature was supreme, and it was compensatory to feel that “Man” was not considered “a little lower.” It is but rarely in one’s life’s his- tory that these supreme moments are cxp?rienced. A man may indeed re- joice that he is permitted to know them. They exalt man; they show him at his best; they reveal possibili- ties ever latent but ever suppressed. They anticipate his evolution by a cycle of time. They show the man with his admixture of divinity, the man his brother’'s keeper. They prove that Man himself is the noblest and mightiest of all facts. The “total will” of San Francisco was centered upon its truest claimant, Man. You felt so those days; you may not have known why. You would not forego that experience for many times what it cost you. You were conscious all those hours that not the earthquake, not the awesome- ness of the fire, but your fellow-citi- zen, your kinsman was the greatest featpre in the great drama. He seemed higher, better, nobler than ever. He had been your neighbor, your co-worker, your partner for years; now you saw him uplifted in ‘that period of test. In such an experience is there not involved a great lesson as well as a vast responsibility? If life is an art, the greatest art is to discover the differentiating principle. The dis- aster outlined that principle and showed it to be simply the attitude of man toward his fellow-man. In the long ago it was voiced somewhat in the edict, “Man is his brother’s keeper.” He was that in our city those¢ glorious days. Think the sequel out for yourself—it is not ob- < | In Answer COIN VALUES—Several correspon- dents. Questions as to the value of coins are answered only by mail when the query is accompanied by a self ad- dressed and stamped envelope. SOLDIERS' HOMES—A. O. T. City. There are five homes for ex-Confed- erate soldiers. They are located at Richmond, ; New Orleans, La.; Aus- tin, Tex.; Pikesville, Md., and Nash- ville, Tenn. QUOTATION—A. S. G., City. “Build- ers wrought with greatest care” is from “The Bullders,” by Longfellow, occurring in the following stanza: In the older days of Art Builders wrought with greatest care, Each minute and unseen part; For the gods see everywhere. MORTGAGE—Subscriber, City. A mortgage is but a lien on land, not- withstanding that in form it purports to convey a present estate to the mort- gagee. The legal title remains in the mortgagor, subject to the lien, and he may sell or dispose of the same % ~ P “Te n%_&ow-g —CHICAGO TRIBUNE. > d’Evelyn. scure. To elucidate would be uncom- plimentary to your heart and intel- ligence. That relationship was a reality for many days. It was a novelty to many, a- strangeness to all, but an undisputed fact; thus is it established a possibility. There is no phase of life with which it is incompatible, no commercial, social or ethical re- lationship of which it could not— nay, rather, should not—be _the quickening agent. How long will it be potent with you? Will it hold its respectability? Will commerce stran- gle it or religion unseat it? Both are prone to.be unsympathetic; both are notorious for the want of mutual help they inspire among men. The man of commerce, of trade often- times borders upon criminality in his lust to get more and outreach his fellow-man; the churchman forgets the charity which he knows ought to be_the bond linking men together. Further, how often does custom condemn man to foolishness! This he practices .at the expense of the brother’s convenience or reputation. You remember the great custom in San Francisco prior to April 18 which made “treating”’ a burden many writhed under, %m dared not or could not throw off. What is your pos- sibility in this? Six weeks’ experi- ence as a detail of the disaster should answer this for you. Good fellow- ship was exchanged, bargains made, business transacted, all without that innately stupid “custom” of booze- bonding. The citizen has been shown by incontestable evidence that indlrt vidually, collectively, ethically and socially San Francisco never demon- strated a nobler comradeship than in her period of prohibition, and if that is not maintained it will be a frank admission that the disaster cov- ered a loftier community standard than it was desired to maintain. San_Francisco has been noble in her affliction, let her be true to her possibilities. She has seen them; the world has seen them. She must not be a bad actor. The man, be he capitalist or wage-earner, who is not for the city is against it and is a menace. We are now on the threshold of our new growth that must be standardized, untainted, un- questioned. Few communities have been given equal opportunities ta become model, great and beneficent, attributes outborn of her travail. Riches and reality are whims, but men and principles are indestructible. Beware of that passive obedience to theories and practices imposed by craft, custom or policy which wiil debase us from the great plane we had been upraised to by that benefi~ cent disaster. After-days _demonstrated our city as a community connected by a bond of brotherhood where men in the avocations of the day sought to make every effort the offspring of an honor and an honesty which had man's betterment of man for its pur- pose. The disaster gave,an initia- tive. Is there a higher and a lower in it? Is there as a result a process making for the uplifting or is there a mere grinding out of an unrelated citizenship, an outcome of low in- stincts and destitute of characteristics which can encourage us with hope? That our self-appraisement will at least approach a conmsistent effort to approximate that which we have seen, known and enjoyed 15 an eth- ically demonstrated possibility. to Queries. burdened, however, by incumb But while the mortgagor may pe:-‘r:f; any valid act relative to the property and make any contract with reference to the title her can do no act which shall be prejudicial to his mortgagee's interests or which may injuriously af- fect the mortgage lien. - SEVEN WISE MEN—Subse: Alameda, Cal. Gemerally the :‘.fi 4 Wwise men of Greece were Solon, Chile, Pittacus, Bias and Periander (In place of whom some give Epinenides), Cleo= bulus and Thales. They were the au~ thors of the celebrated mottos in- scribed in the latter days In the Del phian Temple. were: Know thyself.,” Solon : “Consider the end,"” Chile; “Know thy opportunity,” Pitta- cus; “Most men are bad.” Bias; “Noth ing is impossible to industry.” Peri~ ander; “Avold ex: " Cleobulus, retyship is t::m:nnu of n:.,-! Townsend's Cal. glace and fruits