Newspaper Page Text
THE comprehensive review of crop conditions in all
parts of the State, collected and published by The
Call, shows a gratifying promise of. a full year.
These reports are not hearsay matters, but are gathered
at first hands by this paper. • To the reader outside of
the State they present, the great and interesting variety
of the products of the soil made possible here by our
climatic conditions. In the same counties we can re
port the condition of oranges and lemons, pears, peaches,
grapes and all deciduous fruits; of wheat, rye, oats, bar-
Icy, sugar beets, olives, figs, alfalfa, almonds and wal
nuts. .\*.'^
It will be seen that while in one county some kind of
fruit' is a light crop in another it is heavy. Where
grain is light hay is heavy, and so on. to the end of the
list. This means a full year for the whole State. There
is a prospect -of good prices and an .absorptive market.
Air crops are well past any possible accident, and the
fruit harvest -is already on. - The cherries and apricots
THE STATE'S CROPS.
An Easy Rescue.
A story is told in the Youth's Com
panion of an old seaman on one of the
United States cruisers in the North At
lantic squadron. He was not a person
of wide affectations, but he had a warm
place in/ his heart for a young ensign
who had been kind to him in many lit
tle ways.
One day a landsman fell from the
rigging to the water, and as he could
not swim he would have been drowned
but for a young officer who sprang in
after him and held him up till assist
ance came.
Later th» young officer received a
complimentary letter from the Secre
tary of the Navy. Every one rejoiced
but the old seaman; he coveted the let
ter for his ensign.
"That's a nice thing to have, a letter
like that," he said a few days later.
"You ought to have one."
"I don't quite eee how I can get one,"
laughed the ensign.
"Well, see here," said the old man
eagerly. "*To-morrow night I'll be In
the main chains, fussing with some
thing or other, and I might fall in, and
you could jump after me."
. "That would be very good of you,"
said the ensign, gravely, "but, you see,
I'm not a good swimmer by any
means.*
"Ho! That's no matter," said the old
seaman. "I'll hold you up till the boat
comes.*
In 18 S3 a great disaster befell the
islander*. Fifteen- men. comprising
nearly the whole adult male popula
tion, were lost in a boat that left the
island to board a passing vessel, mak
ing of Tristan, as one of the survivors
expressed it, "an island of widows and
children." But the women an Ct the
boys and girls had been trained ilTthe
rugged school of self-help and ".instead
of abandoning themselves to weeping
and moping they set to work to make
the best of the situation and with the
aid of tsome supplies from the British
Government stuck it out, triumphing
of the little community so remark
able (or does it really furnish one ex
planation of it?) is the fact that the
original stock was by no means
"picked" as is the case with many
more ambitious attempts to establish
ideal colonies which have signally
failed. The male progenitors were
just plain, ordinary, rough and ready
men. the nationalities represented
among them being Scotch, Irish, Eng
lish and Dutch. They married col
ored women, one being of African
birth and three others Asiatics. But
in their descendants there are little
signs of the "tar brush."
Tristan da Cuhna was discovered in
1506 by the Portuguese navigator
¦whose name it bears. Great Britain
took possession of it some three hun
dred years later and while Napoleon
was imprisoned on St. Helena, 1300
miles distant, placed a detachment of
British soldiers there as a sort of out
post garrison. On the death of Na
poleon in 1S21 the soldiers were with
drawn, but a certain Corporal Glass
with his wife and family and a few
other men were allowed to remain. In
IS 3 3 the population numbered forty
souls and in 1652 had risen to eighty
«ve. In the course of the next two
decades twenty-five left the island for
the United States and forty-five mi
grated to the Cape, reducing the num
ber of those remaining on the island
to thirty-six. An enumeration made
in 1SS0 showed 109 living there and
these figures have remained the high
water mark of population. There have
been two violent deaths, but they were
cases of suicide due to mental de
rangement.
What makes the high moral record
The outsider who recently visited this
later day Arcadia did so for the pur
pose of finding out' whether its inhab
itants really wanted to leave it. Tris
tan da Cuhna belongs to England, and
in January, 1903. a British man of war
called at the island and afterward re
ported that most of the people were
weary of their life of isolation and
wanted to get away from" the place.
So the Government of Cape Colony
Bent a representative to offer the isl
anders free transportation to that
country if they wished IU as well as
the means of making a new start in
life. But when the agent explained to
the folk of Tristan da Cuhna how dif
ferent the outside world was from their
island home the little community of
seventy-seven decided to let well
enough alone. And the visiting official
thinks they have acted wisely, for he
says that "having lost the instincts of
suspicion and circumspection they
would fare ill if set adrift in any civil
ized community where each man plays
a lone hand in the game of life and
cares little who loses so long as he
himself wins."
Just as there are no newspapers in
Tristan da Cuhna, no postofllces, no
churches and no schools there also are
no shops. The only time, in fact, when
the inhabitants think of anything like
bargaining is when they trade with ships
passing the island. Even then, how
ever, there i« no competition among
them. All provisions or produce of
any kind supplied to ships are re
garded as the common property of the
community and the proceeds of their
sale in clothing or stores are dis
tributed equally among the several
households, the blowing of a horn
summoning a representative of each
family to the division. To make the
system work out fairly each family
takes its turn in supplying what a
nhip needs.
HEADQUARTERS OF THE CALL,
< HENRIETTA STREET. COVENT
GARDEN. LONDON, May 8.— Folk
who- hold that money is the root of all
-evil may find support for that belief in
the Isle of Tristan da Cuhna. For
though seventy-seven white folk In
hit bit this flyppeck of an island in the
South Atlantic, there is no money in
circulation among them and, signifi
cantly enough, there also is no wrong
doing of any description. Wrote a re
cent visitor to the island. "Money
would be useless, for there is nothing
to buy." And he continued. "Living in
honesty, sobriety and harmony, free
apparently from all crime, vice, dissen
sion or double dealipg. the inhabitants
of Tristan da Cuhna seem unconscious
ly to have carried out the purpose en
tertained by the original settler in
JS11. Jonathan Lambert, by keeping
themselves "beyond the reach of chi
canery and ordinary misfortune.' They
have no written laws. All being law
abiding, they need none, each doing
"what seemeth right in his own eyes.
They have no jail. Crime among them
being unknown, such an institution
would be a superfluity. They have no
form of government and pay no taxes.
They enjoy perfect independence and
freedom, which never degenerates into
license. The community is absolutely
moral."
Special Correspondence.
A Modern Utopia.
pouches and pipe cases are made. They
are almost as tough as French kid, so
translucent that one can nearly see
through them, and as pliable and soft
as calfskin. The material of which
they are made is as thick as cardboard,
but as flexible as kid.— National Geo
graphic Magazine.
-The chattering of young lady students at Berkeley
during recitation and lecture hours has assumed the dig
nity and difficulty of a problem to the university authori
ties. Why not make a requisition for gum in large quan
tities and keep mouths going but tongues silent? The
chatterers even might accept the change as a compen
sation
THE MILK SUPPLY.
Laivson's Five Mcx.
Justice of the Peace Lawson has had
a number of very peculiar experiences
since his election to the bench. He is
brimful of stories that serve to show
that the office of Justice of the Peace
is not a sinecure, and he can also tell
a number that show that at times the
office may be quite an easy place to
nil. Some of the latter also show that
a Justice of the Peace can be equally
"easy." This is his latest:
"Just after I had adjourned court the
other morning I went to my chambers
to do a little work. I found awaiting
me there a very handsome young
woman, stylishly dressed, and a young
man whose clothes indicated that he
was fairly well-to-do. He was also
good-looking and when he stepped for
ward. Introduced himself and asked me
to make the young lady his wife, I
cheerfully assented. They really did
look good to me. Well, to make a long
story short, I performed the ceremony,
gave them the usual good wishes and
the 'thank you' I gave the groom when
he handed me a sealed envelope con
taining something that weighed quite
heavy, was heartfelt. I dropped the en
velope on the desk. The sound It made
almost made me feel like saying 'thank
you' again, but I refrained and walked
to the door with them and ushered
them out. I gave them another bunch
of good wishes and then went over y>
my desk. Naturally the envelope at
tracted my eye, so I picked it up and
proceded to tear it open. I found five
dollars in silver— but the dollars had
been made in Mexico."
Louisiana French.
Congressman Broussard of Louisi
ana Is, as his name indicates, of
French descent He never spoke Eng
lish until he went to Georgetown Uni
versity. "It is curious," says Mr.
Broussard. "how the French language
has remained the dominant tongue in
my part of the country. Brought here
by Arcadians of Nova Scotia in the
eighteenth century, it prevails to-day,
and I believe always will. Curiously
enough, you will find plenty of men in
my district with such unmistakably
English names as Jones and Hayes
who can't read, speak or write a word
of English. Still funnier is the talk
of the black people. Their negro
French would be unintelligible in
Paris, and yet It Is the softest, sweet
est, most musical speech I ever heard
from human lips. It knows no gram
mar, but it is the very essense ot
euphony and melody."
A Bohemian Graft.
An action recently brought by the
Bohemian town of Deutsch-Landsberg
against the Bohemian provincial
authorities revealed the astonishing
fact that a tramp named Waselowsky
had been kept in the local prison for
three years while Inquiries as to his
Identity were being made.
In this country the parish authori
ties of the place where a man is born
are responsible for the cost of parochial
relief or imprisonment anywhere else.
Waselowsky presumably found the
prison at Deutsch-Landsberg to his
taste, refused all information as to his
origin, and was detained by the pa
rochial authorities for inquiries three
whole years without any result.
They now claimed, but unsuccessful
ly, the cost of his keep from the pro
vincial authorities.
'As the Registrar Sees Us.
"We have all sorts or queer people
who come here to get registered," said
Registrar Adams. "Among them I re
call the man who came Just before the
last election, saying that he wanted to
qualify to vote for Schmitz for Presi
dent of the United States, evidently
thinking that the Mayoralty candidate
.had higher aspirations than he was
credited with. Then again there was the
man who had landed here from a for
eign steamer only the day before and
wanted to vote right away. He was
sadly disappointed when told that he
would have to wait several years before
he could acquire the elective fran
chise.
"Yesterday a pompous individual ap
peared at the office and informed us In
a loud voice that he desired to get reg
istered. He said among other things,
that 'it was a shame to put a citizen
to all the trouble of coming out to the
City Hall and opined that the registra
tion should be carried out in the same
manner as that of taking the school
census, that is, qualified deputies
should call at houses and register the
voters.
" 'Is this the place where I register?'
asked the aforesaid citizen.
" 'Well, the office Is right down stairs.
You had better hurry up though, as
they are waiting for you.*
" 'Waiting for me,' said the citizen
with a conscious air of superiority.
'Now how in the world did they know
I was coming?' "
Mark Tzvain Flattered.
Mark Twain was greatly flattered
when a friend, who had been visltlns
Darwin, told him how the great man
had pointed to- an open book lying on
a table and said. "You must be care
ful not to disturb that. That book is
'The Innocents Abroad.' I read it night
and morning." Mark Twain — he tells
the story himself— bought a copy of
Darwin's biography to learn what
might be said there about himself. The
only possible allusion to his works, he
says, was the statement that Darwin
in # his later years suffered from a spe
cies of atrophy of the brain, which in
capacitated him from the enjoyment cf
good literature and compelled him to
seek mental rest in the perusal of
trashy novels and vacuous humor.
Ans-zi'crs to Queries.
A FUTURE DATE — Subscriber,
Oakland. Cal. The Fourth of July.
1776. fell on a Thursday: July 4. 1876.
on a Tuesday, and in 1976 it will fall
on a Sunday.
OUR city officials whose duty it is to keep a vigilant
eye upon the food offered for consumption in our
markets have inaugurated a crusade against impure
and adulterated milk which has an immediate- pertinence
to public health. Recently the Board of Supervisors
passed an ordinance raising the standard of butter fat
required in milk by fixing the percentage- at 3.3 from Jan
uary 1 to April 30, and 3.4 from May 1 to December 31.
More important still is the report that Health Officer
Ragan is preparing upon the unsanitary condition of
dairies and milk ranches from which the city's supply is
drawn. • .
The recent disclosures of criminal fraud and negli
gence in the milk supply of Chicr.go should put us here
in San Francisco upon our guard- In that city it was
shown that the milk sold at exorbitant rates that made
it almost prohibitive to the poorer classes was of such
low grade of nutriment as to be no food at all. Compar
isons of the statistics of infant mortality in Chicago
with those of other cities of the East led to the discov
ery that many of the young in the tenements, whose
only food consisted of this diluted milk, actually starved
for want of proper nourishment.
By setting the standard of butter fat in milk offered
for consumption here in this city at the figures noted
the Board of Supervisors has done much to insure a
wholesome supply of the commodity. The dairymen's
plaint that the scarcity of feed in the winter months
prohibits the output of rich milk has been met by a
iower standard required for the first four months of the
3'ear by the ruling of the Supervisors, with a corre
spondingly higher percentage demanded during the
months of good feeding. No dairyman can justly cavil
at this last standard set for his goods, lower, indeed, than
that required in many Eastern cities.
In the matter of unsanitary sources of supply, to be
noted by Health Officer Ragan in his report, a danger
far more grave has to be met. "From my personal ob
servation," says Ragan, "I am constrained to say that
not one of the dairies is fulfilling the requirements de
manded by the sanitary laws. I venture to say that
there are no absolutely clean dairies within the city
limits^ notwithstanding the evidence before the Super
visors that some of them are models of cleanliness."
The officer goes on to show just how bad some of the
milk ranches are by reciting evidences of uncleanliness
which had come under his observation.
This city does not want a typhoid epidemic such as
devastated the town of Butler, Pennsylvania, on account
of its bad water, or Palo Alto through the contamination
spread by one vender of bad milk. The sale of diluted
or germ-laden milk is as criminal a proceeding as the
offer of tainted meat upon the market, and one calcu
lated to bring more widespread harm. The Board of
Supervisors should prosecute their precautionary meas
ures without cease until our milk is as pure and whole
some as the most exacting standards of health demand.
COINS — Subscriber, Redding. Cal.
Questions relative to the value of
coins that are sent to this department
will be answered by mail If the cor
respondent s#nds a self-addressed and
stamped envelope.
Ole Time Religion.
— any time
or any place,
Brother Williams loved that good old
song — an' sung it fur an' free —
"Gimme the old-time religion — it's good
enough fer me!"
He used to send it rlngin' from the old
church — fur away.
An' the angels had to listen, or — jest
take a holiday!
When they'd spring new-fangled doctrine
'Bout takin' 'way his privilege of fallin*
'way from grace, —
Any hifalutin' notions — well, he couldn't
hear or see!
"Gimme the old-time religion — it's good
enough fer me!"
Well, it happened so. he said good-by —
moved whar the city shines.
An' left us praisin' God alone, down yon
der, in the pines;
An' he jlned a big ole meetln" house,
with rich folks, an' the like.
llghtnln' loves to strike.
An' one o' them tall steeples that the
Whar they take up big collections — thou
san' dollars at a clip.
Fer these new style improvements to the
ole-time Gospel Ship!
An' once the leader rls an' said: "I'm
privileged to say.
We want a thousan 1 dollars from each
brother here to-day!"
Then Brother Williams slowly rlz. an*
took his hat an' cane.
An* walked as lively down that aisle as
some ole country lane!
An' hit the grit a-slngln' loud out, an*
full, an* free:
"Gimme the ole-time "religion — It's good
enough fer me!"
— Atlanta Constitution.
Alameda County in her many cities, towns, hamlets
and nestling communities, some not yet on the map, is
law-abiding, peaceable, contented with herlelf and happy
with the world. We have the word of her own officers
for it, an assurance made after due inquiry and diligent
searching of conscience. So let malefactors beware and
shun Alameda, for it is hazardous to prey on a popula
tion where everybody, even the office-holder, is law
abiding.
RAILROAD BUSINESS— M. A. S..
City. The question asked relative to
the duties of certain employes of a
railroad company is not a public mat
ter and of the kind of questions that
this department answers. You may
obtain such information by applying
at the general office of the company
If you can show any good reason for
asking such a Question.
Chief of Police Wittman says that San Francisco is
desperately in need of more policemen- It is a matter
of the deepest satisfaction to the public to know just
what the matter has been with our police Force. Most
of us have labored under the delusion, now happily re
moved, that the fault was in the quality, not the quan
tity. It might not be unwise, however, to improve what
we hare while waiting to get more.
CALIFORNIA'S CONSTITUTION—
Constant Reader. Pacheco, Cal. The
Legislature on March 30 passed an act
to provide for a new constitution for
the State of California. The conven
tion that framed the new constitution
was in session in Sacramento frorr.
September 28. 137S, to March 3, 1S7D.
The act of this convention was ratified
by the people at. an election held May
7. 1379. The constitution went into ef
fect July 4, 1S79. at 12 o'clock, meridian.
. The Regents of the University of California have
made glad the hearts of the teaching staff by voting a
liberal increase in salaries to the men In whose care
is the conduct of the highest public school education in
the State. This recognition from the administrative body
of the university has been well won, but it should be
only 4 a beginning. Some of the instructors at Berkeley
are still wretchedly underpaid.
ARMY AND NAVY— O. S.. City. In
modern times it Is impossible to assert
which -is the greatest military aad
naval power of the world, as it Is the
test that determines., A nation may
have a very large army and a strong
navy, yet it may not be as powerful
as a nation vrlth a smaller army and
navy, as Is illustrated during the pres
ent war between Russia and Japan.
The military strength of Italy at this
time is active army and reserve on
war footing. 46.314 officers, 1,965.055 men
and non-commissioned officers: 83,000
horses and 2400 guns. On a peace foot-
Ing the strength of the army Is 2.265,523
officers and men: 44.300 horses And 2400
gun?. The naval strength Is 357 vessels
of all descriptions: 324 officers, 20.700
enlisted men. 192 heavy guns and 22S4
secondary and machine guns.
Special Information supplied daily to
business houses and public men by tha
Presn Clipping Bureau (Allen's). 220 Cal
ifornia street. Telephone Mala 1942. *
Townsead's California Glace fruits ta
artlitlc fire-etched boxes. 715 Market at.*
A mild-mannered man of this city sued his better half
for a divorce the other day because she expressed an
emphatic and evidently sincere desire to have him cut
into thirty-three separate and distinct portions. The natu
ral repugnance of the gentleman involved is not a cir
cumstance in interest to the inquirj' of where the lady
was taught her system of correct carving in the matri
monial market.
Out of the depths of sophisticated San Francisco a
miracle of arcadian simplicity has come tp startle us
and encourage. One of our worthy fellow-citizens went
recently to a suburban Sunday picnic, fell asleep on
the boat that carried him homeward, and, according to
his tale of woe, wa9 robbed of his watch. He should be
modeled in bronze as . a personification of the bucolic.
Japanese Paper.
From the bark of trees and shrubs
the Japanese make scores of papers,
which are far ahead of ours.
The "walls of the Japanese houses are
wooden frames covered with thin pa
per, which keeps out the wind but lets
in the light, and when one compares
these paper walled "doll houses" with
the gloomy bamboo cabins of the In
habitants of the Island of Java or the
small windowed huts of our forefathers
one realizes that, without glass and In
a rainy climate, these Ingenious people
have solved In a re/narkable way the
problem of lighting their dwellings and
at least in a measure of keeping out
the cold.
Their oiled papers are* astonishingly
cheap and durable. As a cover for his
load of tea when a rainstorm overtakes
him, the Japanese fanner spreads over
it a tough, pliable cover of oiled paper,
which is almost as impervious as tar
paulin and as light as gossamer. He
has doubtless carried this cover for
years, neatly packed away somewhere
about his cart. The "riklsha" coolies
In the large cities wear rain mantles of
this oiled paper, which cost less than
IS cents, and list for a year or more
with constant use. »
An oiled tissue paper, which Is as
tough as writing paper, can be had at
the stationers for wrapping up delicate
articles.
Grain and meal sacks are almost al
ways made of bark paper In Japan, for
it Is not easily penetrated by weevils
and other insects.
But perhaps the most remarkable of
all the papers which find a common
use in the Japanese household are the
leather papers of which the tobacco
The following anecdote is told by An
drew Lang in the Sign of the Ship in
Longman's: A man and wife in town
were, congratulating themselves Just
before dinner on dining, for once, alone
and at home. To them enter another
man and his wife, who were neither
known nor looked for, and had obvi
ously come to the wrong house — a thing
that will happen in London. The hosts
dissembled , and welcomed them (a
thing that, as a matter of fact, does
occur), and all went smoothly till the
ladies left the drawing-room. Then the
guest turned to his host, and said with
emotion. "Now, do tell me the whole
stcry about poor Sophia." What was
the host to do? With presence of mind
he replied, "It is really too painful. I
hope you will excuse me." "Oh, cer
tainly, certainly," said the guest, "I
would not be curious," and he changed
the subject. When the guests had
gone, and the hosts were wondering, a
servant brought an envelope which the
guests had left. It was adressed in
pencil, "For Sophia," and" contained a
handful of bank-notes. Now, the hqgts
knew neither the name nor address
of the guests, and they vainly adver
tised for them. Puzzle for Sherlock
Holmes, to find out the. adventure of
poor Sophia. — St. James Gazette. s
A Poser for Sherlock.
For many reasons it would seem to
be eminently desirable that the exist
ence of this inland Arcadia should be
perpetuated. As an object lesson In the
solution of some of the most vexed
problems of sociology, the little com
munity may some day be deemed
worthy of the study of some of our
learned professors who have evolved
various theories as to how the greatest
happiness may be attained by the
greatest number.
They have troubles of their own, like
all other peoples. The worst of them
came from the outside world. Over
two score vears ago a schooner was
wrecked on the island and a lot of rats
escaped from her to the shore, multi
plying so fast that they soon overran
the island, rendering the cultivation of
grain impossible and sweeping bare the
hillside where grew the Tussock grass
with which they used to thatch their
cottages. Now each householder has to
raise what he needs of It in a walled-
In inclosure_from which the rats can
be kept at bay. The rats are the curse
of the Msland. The Tristanites will
erect a monument to the memory of
anybody who will rid them of the pest.
Nature has been at no pains to pre
pare an earthly paradise on this lone
ly isle. Its remoteness from the world
of strife and unrest is what has con
tributed most to the establishment of
an Arcadia there. The island is a
vast volcanic cone almost 8000 feet in
height, which was hurled up out of
the sea aeons ago. The base is a
rough circle, the circumference of
which, something over twenty miles
in extent, is defined by steep clfffs
from 1000 to 2000 feet high. -On
Ihe northwest a plateau yonie
five miles long and about a mile
broad. Intervenes between these cliffs'
and the sea, and this also drops ab
ruptly about 100 feet to the actual
sea beach.^ It is on this low lying:
stretch of ground that the little com
munity dwells and cultivates what
crops they can obtain, mostly potatoes.
A copious stream "of fresh water
bursts out at the foot of the lofty
cliffs running across the northern end
cf the plateau and falling over the
lower cliffs Into the sea, making a pic
turesque cascade and a refreshing:
eight for mariners whose water casks
need replenishing. ;
Near this rivulet the fifteen or six
teen dwellings of the settlement are
grouped. Some years ago a part of the
spring was diverted near Its source by
cutting a furrow, so that a tributary
stream now passes by the door of near
ly every one of the houses to reunite
Just above the cascade. The houses
are built of soft stone obtained from
the high slopes of the mountain,
dressed to flt so exactly that the
scanty mortar nsed is scarcely needed.
They are all built on substantially the
same plan, about thirty feet long and
ten broad, and onlv one storey in
height. One-half of each house is de
voted to the sitting room, with a large
fireplace and chimney in the gable,
the remainder being divided into two
or more smaller, rooms, with communi
cating passages. The wood used In the
partitions has been obtained from ships
that have called at the island or been
cast ashore there. A relic of one of
these shipwrecks is seen in the inscrip
tion "Mabel Clarke" which appears on
a piece of timber used in constructing
one of the bed rooms. . For rescuing
the crew of this vessel, in 1878, the isl
anders were rewarded by the United
States Government.
over a disaster that would have
wrecked a colony of carefully selected
idealists.
IT is impossible to avoid notice of the contrasts be
tween the Republican and Democratic State conven
tions. At Santa Cruz the talk was all about the per
sonal ambitions of men. Oratory found its sole inspira
tion in the promotion of personal partisan interests.
The welfare of the people and the promotion of their
progress had no place in the speeches.
All around were the evidences of the thrift and enter
prise of the State. Plainly manifest everywhere were
the signs written by nature and enhanced by man, ex
pressing the greatness of achievement and the glory of
California. But .the Santa Cruz orators saw it all with
jaundiced eye, and their vision conjured evils where
none exist in order to give play to frothy denunciation
and make appeals to the spirit of class and faction. That
convention tramped around in a narrow circle, and was
not enlivened with a single great and unselfish utterance.
Its contests were to make good accumulated greeds and
grudges, and its most impassioned nights of speech
were indulged to glorify enmities or further the schemes
of selfish and unworthy ambition.
At the Republican Convention - in Sacramento there
was the same setting of the gifts of nature and the'
achievements of man, but how different the effect of
these and how different the expression of -purpose! The
speakers found their inspiration in the State, the prog
ress of its people, its material greatness and the prosper
ity of its cities. The Republican Convention from the
falling of the chairman's gavel resembled a meeting of
the representatives of the material interests whereon
the enterprise of the people is wrought, and upon which
they depend for the rewards of thrift which build their
homes, fill their tables and enlarge and refine their lives.
Among the delegates were the agriculturists and hor
ticulturists, the miners, dairymen, irrigators, shipbuilders,
merchants, bankers and business men of * California.
They honestly recognized a connection between politics
and the public welfare, between public policies and the
even-handed progress of the people. As all vocations
were represented, those who spoke for, them knew that
there can be no partial prosperity. To be real, prosper
ity must be general and within the reach of every man's
industry, thrift, temperance and genius. Representing
all the interests that make California what it is, the dele
gates stood for equality of opportunity, without chasing
after patent plans for making all men equal in their
capacity to use opportunity.
As might have been expected in an assembly so con
stituted, there was no bitterness of partisanship nor de
nial of patriotic motives to others. The chairman,
Judge Burnett, in his speech of acceptance said: "No
intelligent man believes and no honest man would assert
that the foundations of the Government are in danger or
the institutions of liberty imperiled. There are too
many honest, intelligent, liberty-loving, .God-fearing, law
respecting and patriotic citizens in both the political
parties to tolerate any policy that would jeopardize our
national integrity or break down the bulwarks of our
constitutional rights. We abate nothing of our admira
tion for the ability/honor and patriotism of thousands
of our political opponents, and pay willing tribute, to
the value erf their services in promoting the highest wel
fare of the nation; yet we declare that no other political
organization than the one we represent since the world
began has so thoroughly demonstrated its capacity to
administer in the highest degree of efficiency the affairs
of a great government."
There is the true note of Americanism. It is a poor
use to make of party spirit for one set of Americans to
charge their countrymen with the intention of destroying
the constitution and subverting liberty. The constructive
nature of the Republican motive never had better expres
sion than at Sacramento; while the opposite motive,
the destructive, aimed at the material interests of the
country, was voiced at Santa Cruz.
California is a microcosm of the whole country. The
Republican party has enacted the gold standard, made
our money the best and most plentiful in the world. It
has fought another successful war, and is bearing the
burdens that resulted in a spirit of philosophy and op
timism. It has made sure of accomplishment the world's
greatest work in the building of an isthmian canal. It
has entered world politics as the defender of justice,
the promoter of equal rights of commerce in Asia, the
protector of the integrity of China against selfish ag
pression, and has established the standard of fair play
wherever an American man-of-war can defend it or ah
American soldier fight for it. To say that all this has
been done without making some mistakes would be to
claim supernatural attributes for an organization of
mere men. But to say that it must be destroyed because
of those mistakes is like saying that the winds must not
blow nor the showers fall because gales sink some ships
and the rains cause some floods.
Perhaps there is no more prejudiced Democratic par
tisan in the country than Governor Garvin of Rhode
Island. But under the husk of his partisanship there
are some grains of American common sense. In a re
cent" address he said of President Roosevelt, after at
tacking by misrepresentation his foreign policy, charg
ing him with disregard of international law and with
ignorance of^political economy, that, "after all, the Presi
dent is really desirous of serving the people of the
United States." To this Governor Garvin added: "Presi
dent Roosevelt is the idol of that majority of the Re
publican party which at heart is Democratic."
That is merely one way of saying that at lieart the
people all have the same patriotic purpose, and the Pres
ident is as deserving of the support of Democrats as of
Republicans who can see the interests of their country
as paramount to mere party selfishness.
are going to market, and peaches and figs will follow
before the end of the month. Grapes will appear in
June, followed closely by melons, and the movement will
be ceaseless until oranges meet cherries again next year.
Our . reports of crop conditions will be found good
matter to send to Eastern people. They are still buffeted
between winter and spring, and have suffered from frosts
that have cut off the fruit and early vegetables. This
puts them in a condition to long for a State where the
wheat is in head, the oranges in bloom and the cherries
ripe, and where strawberries and shad are on the table
eleven months in the year. They want to know about
a country where* January and June are much alike, and
the land yields four and a half tons of sugar to the
acre, and men can grow their own wine and oil, and en
joy both under their own vine and fig tree. They will
note that on the day we publish these reports Boston
had a temperature of 52, with an east wind; Cincinnati
48, Washington 58. That is cold for the East. Here we
were enjoying a summer temperature and eating cher
ries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and apricots,
with no frost bites to doctor and no chilblains to swear
about.
CONVENTION CONTRASTS.
THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, FRIDAY. MAY 20, 1904.
THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL
JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor , . . . . Address Afl Communications to JOHN McNAUGHT, Manager
Publication Office •. Third and Market Streets, S. F.
FRIDAY K M A Y 20, 1 904
MEN AND MATTERS IN
THE FORE AS THE WORLD
MOVES
TALK OF THE TOWN
AND TOPICS OF THE
TIMES
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