Newspaper Page Text
I WEDNESDAY
California's Congratulations - and
Ours - to President Elect Wilson
CONGRATULATIONS to President Elect Wilson, to the party
which he has led to a remarkable-victory and to the country
whose destinies he is to*direct for the coming four years.
It was the good fortune of the democrats in a time of republican
dissension to have a candidate of such type and stature, a man of
national standing to draw them together again and hold their line
unbroken through a furious campaign.
The country. too, is fortunate in that it is to have for its chief
•tive a citizen of impeccable character, of the attributes and
qualities that go to make the statesman and the high magistrate.
For all the bitterness of the canvass, and in spite of the searching
partisanship turned against him, it may be truthfully said of Gover
nor Wilson that he has not for a moment stood in need of defense;
he went into the campaign and comes out of it clean handed. Ik has
neve ue<l hhnself to be drawn into any exchange of angry
accusations —has fought a good fight with a good temper and with
dignity. ,
But the especial beneficiary of the hour is Governor \\ ilson
himself. No other democratic president ever came into power so
Externally and internally the government which he
will take over from the hands of President Taft next March is in
good condition. He will be the heritor of no perplexities in the
nation's foreign relations. We are at peace with the world, and our
credit as a nation is at its higtiest through all Christendom.
Alt home the conditions are exceptionally good, and they promise
to be still better. It has been a year of enormous production. Farm,
field and factory, mill and mine make the severest demands in our
history upon the transportation industry. There is at hand a short
age of cars that will be a grave problem in itself, though not one to
worry the White House. There is so much for us to sell and the
people of our own and other countries want it so urgently that time
and means oi conveyance are the prime consideration, not price.
All the signs point to an era of prosperity for the American
founded and fortified that only unthinkable calamity
rb or alter it. Governor Wilson goes into the higher
office amid circumstances so fortunate and under conditions so pro
pitious that he will be free to devote himself and his energies to the
putting into practice of his own theories of government. He will
be vexed by the distress of ths people whose affairs he adminis
ters, but may behold them prosperous, cqpiented and peaceful.
Governor Wilson is essentially a conservative. All his educa
tion and experience have tended to make him so. It is not likely
that, even if he have a democratic congress, he will urge or advise
tariff changes that might unfavorably affect the country's prosperity.
Certainly he will not lead nor seek to lead the lawmakers of the
land into fields of dubious experiment as to other matters. His part
will be, we imagine, to move prudently along the lines of wisdom
for the general good. He has no rash promises out that may be
brought back to him for fulfillment.
Such analysis of the vote as is possible at this writing leads to
the conclusion that the American people are less atld less to be
moved by the arguments of either partisanship or passion. The vic
ernor Wilson appears to have come to him from the
hands of several millions of electors who are nothing if not indepen
dent —who think independently and then vote that way. However
necessary the party system may be under our form of government,
it is - thing for the republic that so many of its citizens feel
thenjselves free to vote for the man who comes nearest to their
s his record and his views. They are a national factor of
safety, a salutary corrective parties grown top powerful and
partisanship become too bitter.
At this yriting the indications are that California has put itself
son column. Whether this be so or not. the heartiest of
California congratulations will go to the victor's Xew Jersey home.
big and rapidly growing just entering upon a period of
marvelous development and expansion, will be found doing its share
ake the next four years nationally prosperous. When President
Wilson a ■■ San Francisco to open the exposition for which we
may thank President Taft he will be given a welcome without any
note of partisanship in it —will be moved to think, indeed, that all
California was for him this November to a man and a woman. That
is our way of doing things.
X .Uf , T may devote some of its energy to a considera
i tion of excess delivery collections made by the
express companies in cities.
Express companies refuse to deliver pack
ages addressed to cities for the fl#t express
I charge, save within restricted areas. For
;ice. in the delivery of packages to the Richmond District. San
Francisco, \\ ells Fargo & Co. transfers the consignment to another
d.elh :]>any. which charges an added 25 cents or 35 cents, a
o o
How About
This Item of
Express Cost?
.Merchants estimate the cost of delivery of packages at from
7 to 10 cent>. This estimate is made lfot only by neighborhood stores
and markets, but by department stoees of the downtown districts
which must deliver to all parts of the city. The charge of from 7to
10 cents a package is the estimate made in the appropriation for the
conduct of the delivery department. The department store takes a
prefit over its delivery expenses just as it takes a profit over the
merchandise. Jt sells delivery service just as it
- silk an*
it can not be pleaded by the express companies that their deliv
ery service costs three times" as much per package as does the
deliver}- service of a merchant. The railroad commissioners can ask
their, am why they make the excessive charge. •
I federal courts have slept unaltered for fifty
<r.s. What a change those ancient regula
is must have found Monday when Chief
I Justice White of the United States supreme
I court opened their cfres to modern conditionci
and o suit the movement o< time!
Revised Rules
for the
Federal Courts
In making the change the high court admitted that fifty years is
iod lor any rule to last. As a matter of fact, the rtiles had *
een altered to any great extent since they were received by the
republic from the mother country, and the available records do not
tell how long these rules had lain on the books of British courts
before their immigration to the calf bound libraries of the younger
natw
ts airiqag the clump?- effected by the court in its
promulgation of new rules are those concerning injunctions. The
new procedure in injunction suits is along the lines advocated by
. but the benefits will be shared by all litigants who
appear in a good cause.
I nder the new dispensation injunctions can not issue on the
mere atlej ition erf the applicant that ifhfeediate and irreparable dam
be inflicted, but it must be shown by specific facts
h in affidavits that such'damage will result. Furthermore, it
3s provided that those restrained may appear in court within two days
ED! fORIAL PAGE OF THE CALL
"Woodrow, I Trust You"
and be heard with expedition on a motion to dissolve the restraining
order. Hearing on a motion to dismiss the order must be had within
ten days at the utmost, while under the previous practice, no time
limit was set by the rules.
"Mr. Dooley" once satirized the courts and their proclivities for
granting injunctions in tho epigrammatic paraphrase. "Let me take
out the injunctions an' I care not who makes the laws."
Under the revised rules it will hardly be possible for any person
or interest to misuse or abuse the injunction process of the federal
courts. The revision is welcome—but it was a long time coming.
VI caut * un m dealing with the United Railroads negotiations. He
is as anxious as anybody to get the existing tangle straight
— i —l ened out and start the city on the way to more
and better transportation. So, too, the street
car company seems to be of a mind to arrange
quickly and cheaply, by amicable negotiation,
, i matters that would cost much time and money
i . settle in the courts.
Bui there are important public rights and important corporate
rights involved. The mayor can no more give away what belongs to
ihe city and the people than the United Railroads can give away
what is rightfully the property of its share holders and bond holders.
The trade—that is exactly what it is—must be fain and must be
4vithin the law. To make it that way needs time for careful consider
ation of all the elements of a complex problem.
Whether or not the Jackson street electric line should partici
pate in the privileges of the outside tracks in Market street, in com
mon with the Sutter street system proper, is a nice question. It is
to be remembered that the city is negotiating now with the Sutter
street company as an entity, and not with the United Railroads. The
people living along the outer Jacksof? street line would doubtless be
glad to have direct service to the ferry, but they can scarcely expect
Settling the
Streetcar
Problem
The administration and the company should be given every
opportunity to reach a settlement, every encouragement. In the
present situation no good end will be served by talk of compelling
extension by use of or threat to use the charter power to regulate
fares. Experience has taught San Francisco that franchises are not
desirable on the lerms now permitted by the charter. Private
capital does not want them unless it sees a reasonable chance to get
back its investment with fair interest. In the opinion qf the capital
ists that is impossible under the conditions that legally obtain here
now. ' The result is that we have had practically no extensions under
the charter.
In other American cities it has been found that the indeter
minate franchise cures just such blights as lie upon our transporta
tion ; it protects the rights of the public and, at the same time, it
gives capital enough encouragement and security to induce it to bid
for privileges. In framing the charter amendments of this year,
.therefore, it should be held in mind that we need more car lines and
that we will not be able to get them with a club. Make the charter
provisions as to franchises equitable and there will be no trouble or
[oOT of time in getting extensions and improvements of service.
the small streets of the city swept late Friday afternoon, so
—— J that the children playing in them on their
.Saturday holidays may have pleasanter and
healthier surroundings.
The small streets are the children's play
, . ! grounds where there are no parks within
shotting distance. The main thoroughfares of the city, especially
in the south ol Market street and North Beach districts, are given
over to streetcars and teaming and are dangerous playgrounds for
the little ones. The small streets and cul de sacs are little used for
vehicle traffic, and while they do not make ideal amusement parks,
they give more opportunity for fresh air and exercise than a basement
or a tiny yard.
A- a matter of civic decency, all streets should- be swept regu
larly and kept clean and sanitary. It is possible to have the city
street sweeping arranged so that the crews could work in the district
of small streets south of Market street and in the Mission and North
Beach**!Triday afternoons and at least jrive Sally in our alley a
Reasonable
Request for
the Children
THE DAY AFTER ELECTION
GEORGE FITCH
Autbor o* "At Good Old Slivaeh."
OF all the days that are different
the day after election is the
differentest. There Is as much
difference between the day before
election and the day after as there is
between electricity and rain water,
pandemonium and tombstones, or be
tween a man who is chasing a train
and the same man after he has in
!serted himself into the bosom of a
phis'i seat in the parlor car.
Tht> day before election is stuffed
with enthusiasm, suspense, kindly
courtesy, hectic indignation, anxious
friendliness, b feeing scorn and wild,
patriotic activity. The day aftev elec
tion is a fiat, gray day composed of
despair, indignation, indifference, and
exhaustion in equal parts.
On the day before election a phono
graph with a dull needle could draw a
crowd anywhere by making a political
speech. Ofr the 4ay after election
Demosthene* on the tariff wouldn't
draw tour people away from a patent
medicine advertisement.
On th<- day before election an.' loyal
party man woubi stop four hours on
his way home to supper to let a little
light into the dusty garret of a mem
ber of another party. On the day after
election he wouldn't go across the
street to convert a whole ■ward.
The day after election is full of vain
regrets, wild sorrow, indignant recrim
ination and wisdom delayed in trans
mission. It is also full of solemn,
exalted joy, breathless triumph and
magnificent vindication. It is full, in
fact, of everything but politics. it is
about the only day in the year that Js
entirely free from politics. It is the
one vacation day in the year for poli-
(Copyright. 1912. by Georgf Matthew Adams>
PERSONS IN THE NEWS
TSUTOMO FUNAMOTO nf Japan, who Is asso
elated with tin- forestry department of Fujit:t
& en., whose principal Interests arc copper
Hi'nintr. ts stayijix at th<> Fairmont. Jit* bas
bees in New York ud Washington gathering
data in connection with the forest preserratlon
and is on his way ln>!iio.
* w * ft
JAMES SLAUSON, a capitalist of I>os Angeles,
hr:ids a party staylns: at the St. Francis. It
Include* Mrs. K. S. VoMnrt, H. L.. Macneil.
Mrs. William B. BaBUMy, Mtsa Ilamsay and
Miss 81. Karasay.
* * *
T. W, HEIKTZLEMAK, superintendent of motor
power in tiio Southern Pedßq yards at Sacra
nientn. is a guest at the Palace.
* * *
W. R. SHIXCK* of the I'nitcd States forestry
service. Washington, D. C, is among the ar
rivals at the Baldwin.
* * *
HIRAM C. GILL, former mayor of Seattle, is at
tbe l';ila<c. He is now engaged in the prac
tice at bw.
* * *
JOHN W. ALLISON of New Ycrk and B. J.
Horton of rrovidence, R. 1., are guests at the
Fairmont.
* * *
BARNEY OLDFIELD, Hie well known automobile
racpr. is uf the St. Francis with Mrs. Oldfleld.
* * *
WILLIAM A. PUBLOW, a piiMlslier of New
Cork, It it the Fairmont with Mrs. Publow.
* # *
WILLIAM HOWA_RTH, a luml«»rman of Everett,
W:i>h., !* at Rra I'slace with his family.
** * *
J. G. ROBERTS, a banker of Madera, is at the
PilUce with liis family.
#-■.."♦ -If
R, H. BARTHOLOMEW ->f Montreal is at the
Palace with bis family.
* * *
H. E. KEEP, n Bacrameoto real estate man, is
a gas#t nt the Better.
E. P. CAS well, a Jaekaoh raixAcr, and wife
'are Bt tlie Tiiriiin.
* * *
E. L. BEALE of Humble, Eng., is registered at
the !St. Fr;ui"is.
* * *
A. T. CUMMINS, n Willows rancher, ie stopping
nt the, Ttirpiu.
* * *
H. D. CANE, a Marysville hiraberinan, at
the Suiter.
* * * *
8. P. CYR of L'urtiaod is staying at the Bald-
I via.
A Cloudy Day
j By the POET PHILOSOPHER
THE sky is dark, the rain is stream
ing, the breezes make despairing
moans, and by the window I sit
dreaming , and pondering on dead , men's
bones. It's hard to write my silly
verses on such»a dark and gloomy day;
I'd rather think of shrouds and hearses
and sextons shoveling , the clay. My
grandma says: #"Don't sit repining!
Don't think about the grisly dead! 'Be
hind the clouds the sun is shining,* as
Milton or some fellow said." That's
just the way it always chances when
I in comfort mourn and brood; some
optimist around me prances and springs
a sunshine platitude. Your optimist
goes 'round demanding that smiles be
long and sighs be brief; It's past some
people's understanding that there's a
wholesome joy in grief. I'm happiest
when I'm saddest, I'm at my best when
feeling punk, and I exult when storms
are maddest, the elements upon a
drunk. The sunshine grows so stale
and weary when it's delivered weeks
on end! How comforting the heavens
dreary that like a pall above us bend!
So let me sit here by the casement, and
groan in peace and weep and sigh, and
watch the waters flood the basement,
and see the funerals go by!
•*«(• JUtt&aw idwi
A Parallel
Editor Tribune: My little three
year-old is digging in the backyard
and rushes in every now and thenfwith
shrieks of delight at some new treas
ure he has dug up. Of course, it is
nothing but nn old button, or a worm,
or a stray buckle, as might be expect
ed, but how like a congressional in
vestigating committee! Dad.—New
York Tribune.
What Happened
The Political Zoo—Superintendent—
"What was all the rumpus out here
this morning?"
Attendant—"The bull moose and the
elephant were fighting over their feed."
•What happened?"
"The donkey ate it."—Life.
Fair Play
"Good gracious, you don't dare to
send out all that abuse of the candi
date, do you?"
"Sure, I do. It's all understood be
tween us. I give the abuse, and he
gets the advertising."—Cleveland Plain
Dealer.
"Pemonthenes on the tariff ivouldn't
draw four people."
tieians. Those who have saved their
country take a brief rest and tell it to
go to thunder, while those who have
been run over by their country while
trying to save it spend a few moody
hours awaiting, its awful fate with
entire indifference.
The day after election is also distin
guished by the number of friendships
which meet a sudden and terrible fate.
On the day before election the love of
a candidate for his fellow mah is so
great that he will run a mile to help a
total stranger into his overcoat. But
on the day after election former candi
dates do # not average over two friends
apiece and they are suspicfous of these.
One of the most disastrous forms of
procrastination is to put off asking a
favor of a candidate until the day after
election.
C. K. ERWIU, president of the Lord & Tlionias
Advertising company, is at thp St. Francis
with his family, which includes Mrs. Erwin,
Miss Mary and Ward Erwin. They make their
home in Chicago and are Tisiting California
on a pleasure trip.
* * #
FREDERICK B. KING, a railroad man of Los
Aueeios; J. E. Norton, v. riinherman of Co
queile, Wash.; D. Palmer, a druggist of Santa
Cruz, and L. Peters, a merchant of Stockton,
«re among the recent arrivals at the Argonaut
* * *
KEITRY T. GAGE, former governor of the state
and late minister of the United States to
Portugal, came up from Lot Augeles yesterday
jxhh Mrs. Gage. They have apartments at
"the Paiace.
* * #
MHO M. POTTEB, proprietor of th» bate] ftl
Santa Barbara which bears his name, returned
from n business trip to the fast yesterday
and registered at the Palace.
Abe Martin
A kicker allus wants somethin' t'
boot. It's worth all it costs t' keep
peace in tb , family.
f NOVEMBER 6, 1912
1 > ,- M - >^-|_rU .«»««««>
Ferry Tales
YOU probably*
didn't hear the
noise as your
ferry boat steamed
by the naval train
ing: station on Goat
island—or V c r b a
B v c n a, as some of i
us think would Be a better name since
"Goat" became a symbol of surrender—
so I will tell you about it. This story
should be read with interest by Dr.
David Starr Jordan, for the light it
sheds on the subject of peace, and is
not unlikely to be clipped from this
page and mailed to Andrew Carnegie.
May it help them both in their relent
less war against war!
Petrosky is a bluejacket in the United
States navy. He is stationed at Yerba
Buena, and, as you may know, has
won something of a reputation as a
pugilist. Somebody, for a reason that
doesn't matter in this connection,
wanted a record of Petrosky's battles
in the ring, and applied to one of the
officers stationed on the island, for the
information. The officer turned over
the request to Pay Clerk Knowles, man-'
ager of the baseball team and Petro
sky's agent in the bluejacket's dealings
with civilian fight promoters. Knowlea
handed the request to the chief yeoman,
telling him to dig up the information,
and do it right away, as the man was
waiting for it and wanted to catch the
boat.
The chief yeoman, whose best girl
had come to the island on a visit, dele
gated the job to two apprentice yeo
man, and from the chief yeoman's of
fice there soon came the peaceful click
of busy typewriters. Suddenly the
typewriters ceased their tapping. The
of loud voices was heard, fol
lowed by a series of crashes against
the bulkhead that divided the chief
yeoman's office from the reception
room.
An investigation revealed the appren
tice yeoman rolling on the floor, locked
In deadly conflict. The room was in
violent disorder. At the opening of the
door the fight ceased. A badly mussetl
yeoman took from the typewriter a
finished copy of Petrosky's record and
handed it to Knowles.
It developed later that the fight hp.d
been over a trivial difference of opinion
which, under ordinary circumstances,
would hardly have precipitated even
an argument. The difference of opinion
had nothing , to do with Petrosky's rec
ord, but over on the island, where they
are giving some attention to the study
of psychology, there is a, firm convic
tion that the nature of the work on
which the men had beern engaged, was
directly responsible for the violent cul
mination of the quarrel.
* * *
With this as an object lesson, and in
view of President Jordan's ultimatum
regarding rough play in the coming
varsity football game, it is suggested
that the coaches of the two teams exer
cise a s f rir*t censorship over the read
ing of their charges, forbidding in par
ticular perusal of European war news
and the sporting columns of the daily
press.
* * ♦
Nothing inspires confidence In giving
advice like the absence of practical ex
perience. In the ferry depot driveway,
close to the Southern Pacific broad
gauge ferry slip, there is maintained
an automatic chemical fire engine. It
is kei t in a closet on the door of which,
in letters large enough to attract at
tention, are the words: "Chemical fire
engine." By-the prompt of chemi
cal extinguishers many a big conflagra
tion has been nvt rted. The value, bow
ever, of these first aids to extinction
lies in their prompt use. This being
the case, it would seem to the inexpe
rienced commuter that it might be wise
to keep the driveway in front of the
fire extinguisher room free from ob
struction. As it is now, the space oppo
site the chemical engine door is used
for the piling of heavy freight, which,
in an emergency, might take just
enough time to move to,give a flre the
chance it needs to become a real blase,
* * *
Chapine, the leading lady of "The
Rose of Panama" company, now in Oak
land, held a crowd of commuters fasci
nated the other evening on the ferry
with her joyous comments on the de
lightful time she has had during her
visit to the coast. She set them all
giggling when she complained of one
sight that she had missed:
"And I have not yet," she chirped,
"been to ze barber shop coast."
* * *
Talking about "ze barber shop coast"
—that part of San Francis* o with which
the eastern visitor is more familiar
than the average San Franciscan—re
minds me of the recent experience of a
well known commuter who played guide
to some eastern visitors a few days ago.
The visitors were a prominent citi
zen of Boston and his wife. She was
from Boston and Washington, D. <\.
strong for the conventions, , a strict
churchgoer, and, at home, a Sunday
school teacher. When they expressed
a desire "to see the sights," our friend
laid out a most circumspect itinerary.
There was dinner at one of the bie!
fashionable restaurants, followed ->y «.
visit to several of the large hotels and
concluding with a trip through China
town.
The lady appeared to be disappoint
ed. It was not a bit like the S>s.n
Francisco her friends in the east had
told her about. She wanted to see
some dancing. After a whispered con
ference with her husband, the guide
led the way to the dancing emporium
that bears the name of a famous Ro
man general. The "rag;' was there in
all its abandon. Thp'men hurriedly
sipped the refreshment tney naa or
dered.
"Lefs get out of here," said the
guide.
"Yes, lefs," assented the husband.
But the lady didn't move. She
watched the dancers as if hypnotized.
"They'll never forgive me," thought
the guide.
"I'll catch it for this when she gets
me alone." mused hubby.
"We don't have to go, do we?" The
lady turned to her husband.
"George!" she spoke as if seixed by
an inspiration. "Couldn't we try it""
LINDSAY CAMPBELJU
