The San Francisco call. [volume], December 28, 1895, Page 4, Image 4

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
4
SEATTLE COLLISION
The Puget Sound Steamer
Evangel Struck by the
Transit.
LOSS OF LIFE AVERTED.
Absence of Fatalities Due to the
Slow Running of the Big
Vessel.
DECK-HOUSE CARRIED AWAY.
The Disaster Due to an Error of the
Smaller Steamship's
Captain.
SEATTLE, Wash., Dec. 27.— As it was
leaving the Arlington dock on its second
trip to Central American points this
evening, the Puget Sound and
Central American Steamship Com
pany's steamer Transit ran into
the steamer Evangel, Captain Winlield
Mann, plying between Seattle and Vic
toria. No loss of life resulted, but the
Evangel's deckhouse was badly demol
ished and a portiun of its guard rail
torn off, doing damage to the extent of
probably $500.
But for the fact that the Transit had not
got under headway the Evangel, which is
an old and much smaller boat, would
doubtless have been instantly sunk.
The sound boat, which was heading for
Port Townsend with a dozen or more pas
sengers and a small amount of freight, had
to put back to Yesler's wharf, and the
Transit, after rendering assistance and
waiting to see that all were safe, went on
her way.
Captain Mann admitted that he at
tempted to cross the Transit's bow, alleg
ing that he believed the big steamer to
have been at anchor. The Evangel is
owned by Mann & Morgan.
BALTIMORE STOCK BROKE
Vigorous Attack Made by the
Bears to Weaken the Road's
Securities.
Officials of the Company Say That a
Receiver Will Not Be
Appointed.
NEW YORK. X. V., Dec. 27.— The fea
ture of the trading at the New York Stock
Exchange to-day was the breat in Balti
more and Ohio from 40' < to 33, on sales of
less than 2000 shares on the reiteration of
the reports of a receivership and rumors of
an intended is-ue of new stock to take up
the floating debt. It was also stated that
the company had sold or would sell its
block of Western Union Telegraph stock.
Vice-President Kinir of the Baltimore and
Ohio when asked about the rumors said :
'•You may unqualifiedly deny the rumor
that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is
selling its holdings of Western Union Tele
graph Company stock. Not a single share
of t tie stock, has been disposed of. Also
the reports of an impending default on the
part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Company or any of its affiliated lines.
The money to meet all interest charges
due January 1. 1896, for all lines has been
provided for and is now in bank. Finally,
the report that the management has dis
cussed the is-ue of from $10,000,000 to
$15,000,000 of new preference stock is en
tirely without foundation in face."
General Louis Fitzgerald, president of
the Mercantile Trust Company and one of
the newly elected directors of the com
pany, said :
"There is to be no receivership for the
Baltimore and Ohio. There is no occasion
for one. The company has now on hand
the money to pay the interest on its bonds j
and the dividend on the preferred stock ;
due January 1. The attack on Baltimore
and Ohio stock was made by bears on ',
Western Union stock who wanted to create I
the idea that the Baltimore and Ohio ■
would be obliged to let go of its Western
Union."
William A. Read of Yermilyea & Co.,
another director, said: "There is to be no ]
receiver for the Baltimore and Ohio. The |
Company has not the authority to issue I
second preferred stock to take up its float- ■
ing debt, as has been reported it would
do."
STORM OF WJOTD ASH MAIS.
Damage. Done by a (rale of Wiiid Along
tlf Atlantic Seaboard.
NEW YORK, X. V., Dec. 27.-Reports
continue to come in thi3 morning of the
damages which were wrought in this city
by last night's high wind and rainstorm.
Many persons had narrow escapes from
serious injury if not death. In North Mor
riaiana four telegraph poles fell across the
elevated road tracks this morning, almost
in' front of an approaching train, which
stopped within ten feet of the obstruction.
The blowing down of the poles paralyzed
the telegraph vires. Plate-glass windows
were blown in, trees uprooted, roofs torn
away and street lamps wrecked, but up to
noon no one was reported injured.
BROOKLYN, N. V., Dec. h.-ihe storm
wrought much damage here also.
JUDGE ALVHY IXVITED.
Asked by Cleveland to Serve »n the Vene
zuela Commission.
NEW YORK, N. V., Dec. 27.-A special
to the Sun from Washington says:
The President ha:: invited Richard H.
Alvey of Maryland, the present Chief Jus
tice of the Court of Appeals of the District
of Columbia, to serve as a member of the
Venezuelan Commission. He now has the
matter under consideration and it is prob
able »hat he will accept. Judge Alvev,
although well advanced in years, is re
garded as one of the ablest lawyers in this
part of the country.
RACING AT MEW OBLBJLSB.
Shields Will Ship His String of Horses
to California.
NEW ORLEANS, La., Dec. 27.-Alex
ander Shields will <iA], his string of horses,
including Logan, to California to-morrow.
Appended is a summary of to-day's events
at the track:
Seven furlongs, Han Dan won. King Gold
second, Sir John third. Time, 1:88 W.
One mile, Captain Kidd won, J)el Coronado
second, Equinpx third. Time, 1 :!'.».
Six furlongs, Red John won, Elberon second,
The Sculptor thira. Time,] l •-'.,.
One mile, Kikita won. I»omingo second. Ash
land third. Time, 1:40.
One and a sixteenth miles. Jack the Jew won
Baldur seronrt, Soundmore third. Time, 1:56.
R.Jockey Turner was suspended for the balanre
of the meeting by the racing governors for his
weak ride on Artist yesterday.
THREE WOJil./t'S RECORDS.
J»tr Marks for Curlers Made by the Syr
acuse Jtacing Tram.
HOTEL DEL. ADO, Cal., Dec.
•27. — Three world's records were made to
day by the Syracuse racing team. Hamil
ton went a third-mile, standing start,
paced, in .438 3-5. William Taylor and
Canby Hewitt on a tandem, paced by
Stone, Swanbrough, Washburn and Terrill
on a quad, made two-thirds of a mile, fly
ing start, in 1:08. A half-mile was cov
ered by the same team in :50 1-5.
Gas Trust to Reorganize.
NEW YORK, N. V., Dec. 27. — Judge
Bischoff, in the Court of Common Pleas
to-day, handed down a decision denying
the motion made by William K. Whitney
for an order making permanent a tempo
rary injunction to restrain the plan of re
organization the Chicago gas trust,.
Julian Will Return.
EL PASO, Tex., Dec. 27.— The breach
between Fitzsimmons and Julian, that
seemed permanent, was finally healed this
evening by local mutual friends. Julian
leaves for New York to-morrow to attend
to legal business. He will return shortly.
Jflotcofthe Gold Reserve.
WASHINGTON, D. C, Dec. 27.-The
Treasury gold reserve at the close of busi
ness, with all withdrawals, stands at
fi(>3,BtJß,:i2o. The amount of gold reported
withdrawn at New York for export to-day
was $2,000,000, and $418,000 in exchange
for currency for domestic use.
Will Drop the JAbel Suit.
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Dec. 27.— Dr. J. C.
Hearne said to-day that he would drop his
libel suit for $100,000 against the San Fran
cisco Chronicle and immediately take up
the practice of medicine at iSan Diego.
SOME NEW DOG STORIES.
1 Several Instance* of Iteinarkable Canine
Instinct.
About a fortnight ago I was given a fox
terrier, on condition that if it did not suit
Ime I should return it to the donor. Last
i Sunday evening 1 was sitting in the draw
: ing-room with my wife, the dog lying on
j the mat by the fire. I said that I was dis
j satisfied with the dog, and should write
and offer to return him. My wife urged
me to do so then and there, and after dis
l cussing the matter for a short time 1 got
!up to pen the letter. As I did so the ser
i vant came to take the dog for a run prior
to turning in for the night. No sooner
was the garden door opened than off went
the dog, full. speed, into tne darkness, and
I has not been heard of since. He had
| always been taken out in the same way be
■ fore and had always come in on being
called. Whether he understood the con
versation I cannot tell. All I can say is
that I can offer no other explanation for
i his disappearance. My wife and the ser
j vant who let the dog out can vouch for the
truth of these particulars. The letter
which I wrote offering to return him lies
before me unposted "to witness if I lie."
I have two dogs— a spaniel and a little
Highland terrier— also a cat. The latter
j has a kitten, born last Monday week. All
i the rest of her family were drowned, and
this, I suppose, has made her rather sus
picious of being moved about, for on Sat
urday last her hamper was put out in the
yard while the floor of the washhouse was
| scrubbed. It was put back again in the
usual place, and the cat seemed quite
happy. However, some hours after the
; kitten was found to be missing, and the
cat was sitting contentedly on a chair in
the little hall. We all hunted high and
low fur the kitten, but could not find it.
I At last I returned to the dining-room,
i where the two dogs were lying be
| fore the fire, and I said casually
jto the terrier, "Do show me where
■■ the kitten is!" never really thinking she
' understood me, when s-he" solemnly got
: up, walked round me, under the table, and
came to my side, then stood looking at a
: small cupboard, wagging her tail. I
\ opened the cupboard, and there lay the
kitten on a tea-cosy! I at once called to
my cousin, who had by this time given up
the hunt and was in her own room. She
culled to know where it was found, and 1
said: "Go down in the dining-room and
ask the dogs to show you." She then went
and said: "Dear dogs, do show me wnen
the kitty is!" and immediately the spaniel
got up and went to the cupboard, looking
at the duor and wagging her tail. They
certainly both understood what was
wanted of them. The spaniel was born in
18 S 7, and has been in my possession since
she was about six weeks old. The terrier
is about the same age, but I have only had
her since December, 1890.
Apropos of your interesting article on
"Recent Ratlore," in the Spectator of
November U, the incidents named from H.
C. Berkley's graphic "Studies on Rat |
Catching" suggest my writing to narrate
a clever exploit of a retriever dog belong
ing to the housekeeper of a well-known
newspaper office in the Strand. Rats are i
constantly caught on the premises, and
the dog, fully aware of their habits,
evinces such ability that his intelligence
is quite worthy of record. Last Sunday he
was heard barking loudly, calling for as
sistance, in the compositors' room, where
there is a rat hole in the floor. The do.,'
had watched two fine rats come up through
their hole, and immediately they wore
fairly away from their point of entry he
rushed up and sat on the hole to cut off
their means of retreat, barking forthwith
for help. Nothing would indue* him to
budge till a board was brought and placed
over the hole, when he started in pursuit
and soon dispatched the intruders. His
master assures me that the dog originated
this ingenious method of procedure, and
that he lias practiced it with like success
on several other occasions. — London
Spectator.
LINCOLN'S GETTYSBURG SPEECH.
The Wonderful Oratorical Instinct
Which Foresaw Its Kffect.
The present controversy over the Get
tysburg speech is curious, as revealing the
inability of otherwise competent critics to
discriminate between the requirements of
written and spoken language. We admire
the flawless perfection of this masterpiece
as we read it, and, forgetting the totally
different conditions of its delivery, cannot
bring ourselves to believe that it could
have been an oratorical failure. The fact
is that we should have greater cause for
wonder had it been otherwise; for the
very excellencies we so justly admire . n it
stand in the way of its immediate effect,
and immediate effect is the sine qua non
of the orator.
Everett realized next day that he had
listened to a masterpiece. The masses
who heard it came to realize the fact when
they read it, while those who did not hear
it at all were loudest in its praise. Any
critical student of oratory could have
prophesied just that result. Lincoln, with
the orator's instinct, foresaw it, and it is a
hundred to one that Everett was dis
appointed, even if he did not give expres
sion to the feelintr.
For one thing, Lincoln did not give him- '
self or his audience time to ucquire emo
tional momentum, if one may use such an
expression. A speaker must suit his
language, as the scene-painter suits his
outlines and colors to the requirements
of multitudes and distance. Lincoln's
effect denes microscopic scrutiny, but
partly for that very reason, and more be
cause of its admirable brevity and com
pression, it is not, in the truest sense of
the word, an oration.
The world has cause to rejoice that it is
not and to give thanks for that high in
stinct that seemingly, in spite of the
speaker's will, checked the flow of what
might have been commonplace eloquence
and gave us instead a matches prose
poem.— F. Townsend Southwick in New
\ork Tribune.
THE SAX FRANCISCO CALL, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1895.
PASADENA'S CARNIVAL
Arrangements for the New
Year's Day Floral Fete
Completed.
FESTIVAL OF FLOWERS.
The City Preparing to Entertain
Numerous Guests From
Neighboring Towns.
READY FOR THE BIG PAGEANT.
Many Candidates to Compete for the
Prizes Offered, by the Citi2ens'
Committee.
PASADENA, Cal., Dec. 27. — The ar
rangements for Pasadena's annual floral
festival — the rose tournament, held on
each New Year's dav — ase nearly com
plete, and the occasion bids fair to be a
brilliant.success. Especial preparations
have been made for the reception and
entertainment of guests from neighboring
towns; the entries for the floral parade
have been more numerous than ever be
fore, and more general interest on the
part of citizens is displayed.
Heretofore the festival has been given
under the auspices of the Valley Hunt
Club, the leading society organization of
Pasadena, but it ha? been considered ad
visable to have this event in the future
under the supervision of all the citizens.
This year a tournament association was
formed to arrange for the pageant.
The celebration will be confined to a
floral street parade, omitting the usual
games and sDorts, as the committee did
not have sufficient time to prepare for
them after the association was formed.
The entries for the parade must be en
tirely floral and will include nVats, eight,
six and four-in-hand coaches, private car
riages, double and single teams, pony
carts, an equestrian and military division,
bicyclists, fire department, etc. Many
civic organizations, social clubs and cor
porations will be represented. Pasadena's
Chinese and Japanese residents will each
make a characteristic entry.
Judges have been appointed to make
awards and e'egant and costly prizes pro
cured, to be given as first and second
awards in each class of entries. Consider
able enthusiasm is manifested and the
only possible drawback will be inclement
weather and scarcity of flowers. The pro
longed cold weather has caused some
anxiety on this latter account.
A press Ptand will be built opposite the
judges' stand, and a general invitation will
be extended to artists and writers to at
tend.
AS SEEN BY HIS VALET.
Xapoleon'A Personal Appearance De
scribed by Constant.
In the ''Recollections of the Private Life
of Napoleon," Constant, his famous valet,
gives an interesting description of the per
sonal appearance of his great master. It
was just after his return from Egypt and
Bonaparte was then very thin and sallow,
his skin was copper colored, his eyes were
sunken, and his figure, though perfect in
shape, was very slender. His forehead
was very high and already bare; his hair
thin, especially on the temples, but very
tine and soft and of a rioh brown color;
his eyes were deep blue, expressing with
almost incredible vivacity the various
emotions by which he was affected; some
times they were extremely gentle and
caressing, sometimes severe and even in
flexible. His mouth was very handsome;
the lips were straight and rather firmly
closed, particularly when irritated. His
nose, of a Grecian shape, was well
formed, and his sense of smell was acute.
His ears w«re small, perfectly formed,
and well set. His whole frame was
beautifully proportioned, though at this
time (1800) his extreme leanness prevented
the beauty of his features from being
especially noticed and had an injurious
effect upon his general appearance. His
Lead was very large, not only in compari
son with the size of his body, but abso
lutely, being twenty-two inches in circum
ference; it was a little longer than it was
bioad; it was so extremely sensitive that
Constant had his hats padded and wore
them several days to break them In before
he gave them to his master. Napoleon's
feet were also very tender and he nad to
have his shoes broken in by a boy em
ployed in the wardrobe who wore
exactly the ?ame size as the Em
peror. Napoleon's height was 5V£ feet.
He had a rather short neck," slop
ing shoulders, a broad chest almost
free from hair, a well-shaped leg and thigh,
a small foot, and well-formed fingers; his
arms were rir.ely molded and well hung to
his body; his hands were beautiful and
the nails particularly well-shaped. Of his
hands, as indeed of his whole person, he
took the greatest care. He would bite his
nails slightly, however, when impatient,
or preoccupied. Later on he grew much
stouter, yet without losing the beauty of
his figure. On the contrary, in Constant's
opinion he was handsomer under the em
pire than under the consulate; his skin,
previously sallow, had then become very
white, and his expression animated, ft
appears that, during his long hours of
labor nd of meditation, Napolecn was
subject to a peculiar spasmodic twitching,
which seemed to be a nervous affec
tion, and which clung to him all his
life. It consisted in raising his right
shoulder frequently and rapidly, and per
sons who were not acquainted with this
habit, sometimes interpreted the move
ment as a gesture of disapprobation, and
inquired with anxiety in what way they
could have offended him. As a matter of
fact, lie was unconscious of the movement.
A remarkable peculiarity of the Emperor's
was that he never felt his heart boat. He
mentioned this often to his valet, and
more than once made Constant pass his
hands over his master's breast in order to
observe this singular fact. Never could
the slightest pulsation be felt. Another
peculiarity was that his pulse at the wrist
was only forty to the minute.
THE MECHANISM OF STORMS.
Weather Forecasters Frequently Find
Their Theries at Fault.
The new chief of the United States
Weather Bureau, Willis L. Moore, has the
reputation of being peculiarly bold and
skillful in his methods, and he has tried
so earnestly not to allow himself to be tied
down by old ideas and prejudices that lie
has incurred some hostile criticism. Mr.
Moore was given an opportunity to speak
for himself before the American Associa
tion for the Advancement of Science at its
last meeting, and some of the most in
teresting parts of his address are here
quoted from the official report in Science.
After quoting the law of 1890, which
prescribes the chief's duties, he goes on
as follows:
"To those who have read every impor
tant treatise on meteorology, and who
have studied every text-book on the sub
ject, it is painfully patent that we are ex
tremely ignorant of the mechanism of
storms; of the operations of those vast and
subtle forces in free air which give incep
tion to the storm and which supply the
energy necessary to accelerate cyclonic
action when formed, or to disperse the
same when once fully in operation. We
know that great atmospheric swiris in the
shape of high and low pressure areas alter
nately drift across the country at intervals
of two or three days; that the" atmosphere
flows spirally into the cyclonic or low
pressure system and outward from the
anti-cyclonic or high-nressure system, that
the indrawn east an<rsouth winds on the
front of the storm are warm, and that the
inwardly flowing north and west winds
are cold.
"The theories of Redfield. Espy, Loomis,
Ferrel and others teach that our freat
storms are composed of immense masses
of air gyrating about a vertical or nearly
vertical axis, drifting eastward and at the
same time drawing in warm easterly cur
rents at the front and cold westerly cur
rents at the rear; that the commingling of
these two as they rise to greater and
greater elevations* near the region of the
cyclonic center throws down volumes of
rain or snow; that as precipitation occurs
with the ascending currents the heat of
condensation energizes the cyclonic circu
lation; that the air at the center of the
storm is relatively warm, is rarefied by
centrifugal force, "and by reason of less
density rises to a great "elevation, and in
the upper regions of the atmosphere flows
away laterally to assist in building up
high-pressure areas on either side.
"The high and low pressure areas are
supposed to be carried eastward by the
general easterly drift of the atmosphere in
the middle latitude, somewhat as eddies
are carried along by water in a running
stream. •
"But, unfortunately for the complete ac
curacy of these theories, the forecaster
often finds heavy downpours of rain with
out any cyclonic circulation, and no con
vectional system in operation ; again over
immense areas of country, especially in
the Rocky Mountain region, for many
months in the year condensation occurs
not at all in the warmer easterly currents
flowing into the .storm center, but almost
exclusively in the western portion of the
storm area, wiiere the cold north and west
winds arc flowing in."
Professor Moore then outlined a few
methods of investigation that may in
crease our knowledge of these matters,
such as the study of the influence of the
solar maznetic lield on our weather, now
being prosecuted by Professor Bigelow,
and the exploration* of the upper air by
kites and balloons.
TURNING TIME BACKWARD.
How -the Day In Lengthened iv iho
United States Senate.
Captain Isaac Barrett, the veteran as
sistant door-keeper of the Senate, who
died the other day. iirst turned back the
fincer of time on the face of the big clock
in 1841. He has told how it happened,
and his own account of it is more interest
ing, perhaps, than it can be made by
elaboration:
"It was on March 4, 1844, that I firgt
turned backward the hands of the Senate
clock. The Senate then, in what is now
the Supreme Court room, was considering
and voting upon an appropriation bill,
when it became evident that the bill
could not become a law before the hour
of noon. Some one suggested to
the President pro tempore — Sena
tor William P. Mangum of North
Carolina— that the hands of the clock
might be so manipulated as to lengthen
the oth'cial day. I was sent for, and was
ordered by Mr. Mangum to put the hands
back ten minutes. The Senate clock then
was a tall one, and I remember very dis
tinctly climbing up to its face. The time
thus manufactured was sufficient, and the
bill became a law. Only on rare occasions j
was ihere any meddling with the clock to
within the last twenty years. Since then
the hands have been turned back at least
once ir every Congress."
Captain Bassett had learned to regard
the old desks and chairs of the Senate as
historical relics in his personal care. He
knew the history of each one, when it
was made, who was its first occupant,
and by whom it had been usel since
it was rirst employed. He also knew
the vandals who haunt the Capitol, and
who would rend and carry away the
desks of famous men if they could
bui rind them. Captain Bassett would
not impart the information he had, but
he had private marks on desk? and chairs
registered in a book closed to everybody.
Mr. Bassett would prefer to see the chairs
of Cass, Calhoun, Clay, Webster and other
great statesman burned where they stood
than mutilated by the relic- hunter. The
desks are made of the best mahogany, and
after the pattern iirst used when the seat
of Government was established at Wash
ington. Every desk made for the Senate
is still in use. Some of the original chairs
also remain.
During his long term of service, Captain
Bassett has been absent when the Senate
was in session only thirty days, and twenty
of those days bad been lost on account of
illness during the last live years. To be
absent a moment when he should be at his
post was distressing to the veteran. "Wiu-n
sickness keeps me indoors," he has said,
"in spite of uJI my endeavors to be cheer
ful, lam simply miserable. You cannot
understand how 1 feel. After sixty-three
years of service the idea that the Senate is |
in session and 1 am not there seems awful.
I can picture to my mind the vacant chair,
and of course I feel conlident that nobody
can perform my duties satisfactorily. 1 '
Captain Bassett had a private nook in
the Senate room of the Capitol which few
people ever saw and fewer snil had ever'
heard of. It was near the room of the Sen
ate Committee on the Library, and would
be a very dark little den but for the gas
light. In that room is a lot of historical
and antique articles, each of which has a
volume of reminiscenses clustered around
it. He had the old snuffboxes used by
Senators when the boxes were kept in the
niches on each side of the Vice-Presideni's
chair; and as they were retired and re
placed by new ones, Captain Bassrtt kept
the old ones and labeled them. He also
preserved a piece of the cane which Pres
ton Brooks broke over the head of Senator
Sumner. He kept all of these things for
description in a book which he intended to
publish before his death.
Do Stones Grow? No, They Don't.
A builder employed on the work of re
pairing a church, a "well-known and trusted
man at Dunstable, and old enough to talk
and think sensibly, declared to me that
the kind of stone (pudding stone) in ques
tion grows-, and that this particular mass
had grown since it was used as a founda
tion stone, as proved by its projection both
ways beyond the thickness of the wall.
Nothing I could say about the absence of
'vitality,' or the impossibility of an isolated
mass removed from all opportunity or
growth by accretion of first material, could
shake his belief tha* the mass had grown
in size. Surely his opinion c uld not find
support in his experience. It would be
well to inquire if this be a popular belief
in this county.— Notes and Queries.
Tom Keed'g Latest Fad.
Speaker Reed has a new fad. He has
taken up amateur photography and be
come quite an expert. Last, summer lie
amused himself taking pictures by the
hundreds, and he has a very interesting
collection to show to friends. Recently he
asked a friend, who is also an enthusiastic
amateur, if he thought it would be pos
sible to take good photographs in the- hall
of the House. Perhaps Mr. Reed thinks of
using his. camera to count a quorum with.
—Chicago Times-Herald.
'ATKSI SHlHi'lNti INTKLCIOJSNCiS.
Movements of Vtlantic Sto.»inorj.
NKW YORK — Arrived liec 27— Stmr Saale.from
Bremen and Southampton; stmr St Louis, from
Southampton. ..- . i'
MOVILLK— Arrived out Dec 27— Furnessla.
COPENHAGEN— Arrived out Dec 27 — Stmr
Virginia. ; ■
' BREMERHAVEN-Arrtved out Dec 26-Stmrs
AHer and Mutt(?art. ■ - . i ,
LONDON— sailed Dec 27-Stmr Mobile, for New
York.
LIZARD-Passed Dec : Stmr Palatia, from
r»e\v York for Hamburg.'
LAST OF THE TAX CASES
Suits for Railroad Dues for 1887
to Be Argued in Wash
ington.
A MILLION DOLLABS INVOLVED.
If the State Wins, Railroads Have to
Pay Full Taxes for at Least
One Year.
John H. Miller and J. P. Langhorne,
special counsel for the State of California,
leave for Washington to-day to argue the
last of the Central and Southern Pacific
tax cases in the United States Supreme
Court on the 6th of next month. The case
involves the taxes of the Central and
Southern Pacific Railroad companies for
1887, which, with counsel fees, penalties
and costs amount to a little over $y50,000.
The suits were first entered in 1889 in the
Superior Court by Langhorne and Miller,
who were then law partners and were
chosen by Controller Dunn as special coun
sel for the State. The cases were tried in
the Superior Court and judgment ren
dered for the full amount in favor of the
State. The railroads took an appeal to the
State Supreme Court, which confirmed the
decision of the lower court on January 6,
1895. On writs of error the cases were
taken to the Supreme. Court of the United
Slates. On motion of Langhorne and Mil
ler the Supreme Court advanced the cases
on the calendar and set them .for hearing
January 6 next, just a year from the date
of the State court's decision. Otherwise
the Supreme Court would not reach them
for two or three year 3 more.
Charles H. Tweed, one of the biggest
lawyers of the New York bar, and J. Hub
ley Ash ton of Washington will appear for
t:;e railroads.
The courts here held against the rail
roads in every point, and both Mr. Miller
and Mr. Langhorne said yesterday that
they had very little doubt of winning be
fore the court in Washington. In fact,
Mr. Miller said that he believed that the
main reason of the railroads ior appealing
was that they wanted time. Wnen the de
cision was rendered here January 6 last by
the State Supreme Court the railroads
were short of money on account oi the
strikes.
• If the State wins, 1837 will be the only
year for which the State will receive fuil
taxes from the railroads since ihe adop
tion of the new constitution.
Suits were brought by the Attorney-
General and District Attorney for the
taxes from 1880 to 1884 inclusive, and only
partial recoveries were mude by com
promise. In 1893 the Legislature passed
the reassessment bill, under which all of
the railroads were reassessed for all years
from 1880 to 1887 at a lower rate than the
original assessments, and the taxes on
these were paid except for 1887.
The assessment of ISB7 having already
been declared valid by the Superior and
Supreme Courts of California, it was left
alone.
Messrs. Langhorne and Miller will come
in for a good fee of about $50,000 if the
cases are won.
GILDEA DEFEATS FLYNN.
The Buckleyites Routed at the
Annual Iroquois Club Elec
tion Last Night.
Nearly Two Hundred Braves Ranged
Themselves in the Hot Fac
tional Fight.
The Buckleyites and the other friends of
President J. J. F]ynn of the Jroquois Club
were routed at the annual election last
night and Ci'.arles Gildea, second vice
president during the past year, was elected
president by the Junta element, the mem
bers of which worked like Trojans.
There was long and hot trouble last
nij;ht, and all over the rule put through by
the Gildea side with their majority, that
nobody should vote unless his dues were
all paid up. Yesterday about 200 of the
230 members owed from 50 cents to $7 SQ.
At all former elections the rule men
tioned has been honored in the breach,
but this year it was of political im
portance. Fewer members in arrears were
on the Gildea side than on the other, and
he and his backers held firmly to the
club law. They worked like beavers to get
v otes, and saw thai everybody on their
side was paid up. However, nearly every
body paiu up last night before the voting
was over, putting about $600 in the treas
ury. Between twenty and thirty mem
bers did not attend and pay, and most of
the?e would have voted for Flynn.
It was asserted lust night that the two
employes of the Board of Health who
would have voted for Flynn were given
instructions to vote for Gildea. Eddie
Greaney was there, and several employes
of the Federal offices mentioned lined up
with Gildea. Dag ett was able to give a
number of votes to defeat Flynn.
It was the biggest meeting the club has
known. On one side the crowd were
Gavin McXab, who is seldom at
the club, and who had nothing to
to say last night, Charles Gildea, James
Dennlan, Isidor Jacobs, Charles Wesley
Reed, E. P. E. Troy, Eddie Greaney,
Clitus Barhour, M. Greenblatt, P. J. Har
ney, Theodore Motzler, Christian Reis, P.
M. Wellin, Harry Zemansky and Registrar
llinton.
In the Flynn crowd were Reel B. Terry,
M. J. Donovan, John McCarthy, Dr. J. I.
Btanton, Robert Boycl, T. Carl Spelling,
Alexander Laid Law, Dr. Bryan, Thomas
Ash worth, P. J. Dunne, M. M. Foote, W.
P, Stradley, John A. Wall and others.
The first vote by rollcall on an unim
portant point showed about how the fac
tions stood. There were 56 for the Flynn
side and 73 for the opposition.
An hour of hot dispute, mixed with
much disorder, followed, and, finally, at 11
o'clock the Gildea bide forced things to the
ballot-box and the voting began amid
quite a row. During the voting Alexander
Laidlaw prepared for a contest by refusing
to pay his dues and formally offering his
ballot, which was refused. Another scheme
to contest the election, which was early
conceded to Gildea, came to light on a
question of allowing voting by proxy.'
Some member had paid up his dues and
sent his proxy to a friend, who offered it.
President Flynn stated that as the club
was a corporation any member had a legal
right to vote by proxy, but the meeting
refused it. Whether the determination to
contest Gildea' s election will last or not
not remains to be seen.
The canvass of the vote showed the fol
lowing result:
For president— James J. Flynn, 52; Charles
Gildea, 74.
For tirst vice-president— A. D, Lemon, 75;
John A. Wall, 48.
For second vice-president— John A. Stein
bach, 51 ; Thomas J. Walsh, 74.
For recording secretary— Dauiel J. Gordon,
104.
For financial secretary— T. J. Mcßride 43,
Aug. D. Pratt 80.
For corresponding secretary— W.H. Kline 50,
J. H. Zemansky 75.
For treasurer— P. J. Thomas 107.
For members of the Board of Trustees—Will
iam J. Ryan, 107: Thomas A. Burns, 79;
TbomasP."Biirns,7B; C. C. Elliott, 57; John
A. Hansen,47; Isador Jacobs, 69; John Krel
ing, 59; L. V. Merle, 84; Louis Metzger, 100;
' Fred Raabe. 14; H. K. Robin, 40; M. Schwartz,
40; W. H. Vinceut, 15; t. J. Welch, 53.
Welch was first declared elected, but on
a recount on a motion made by Mr. Toby,
Kreline was declared elected on a differ
ence ot one vote.
BANQUET BY A FIRM.
Miller, Sloss & Scott Dine Their Em
ploye!) at the MaUon Riche.
Miller, Sloss & Scott gave their fourth
annual banquet last night at the Maison
Riche to members of the tirm, heads of de
partments, traveling agents and salesmen.
On the occasion of the first banquet
after the organization of the firm there
were fourteen present, last night there
were thirty, as follows: 0. E. Miller (presi
dent), Joseph Sloss, Leon Sloss, A. L.
Scott, J. A. Scott, members of the firm,
and E. Sanders, F. Batchelder, C. F. Moul
throp, W. A. Rice, W. A. Leonar.t.
M. H. Quin, Georee Henderson, George
Hickman, E. R. Hunt, A. Cooley, W. 11.
Palmer, W. Armstrong, J. Foster, H. Gh
Sturtevant, A Bishop, J. Johnson, Milton
Bray, W. H. Young, O. P. S. Sheets, J.
Mcßride, George Burton, J. A. Britton,
Theo Shucking, James Vance, J. W. Oat
man, George Crum.
Sturtevant and Sheets, two knights of
the road, acted as toastmasters and called
forth a number of impromptu humorous
responses.
A 8400 Dollar Ulaze.
An alarm of tire from bex 84 was turned in
last night for the purpose of getting enough
firemen at the residence oi Michael Pohlman
at 317 Prospect avenue to extinguish a blaze
in the basement of that gentleman's residence.
Although the jakies did the best they could,
the damage summed up to $400 before the
matter was adjusted to the satisfaction of Mr.
Pohlman.
LAKE EEIE CUTTING UP DIDOES.
A Proposed Dam to Deepen the Water
That Would Harm Niagara Falls.
Lake Erie has been cutting up all kinds
of pranks the past summer, according to a
Cleveland dispatch in the Washington
Sun. So fickle has this shallow body of
water become that those most interested
i think it time to restrain the "most treach
erous of the unsalted seas." Never has
the water in the lake been so low as this
year. From Buffalo to the mouth of the
Raisin River shoals and reefs have been
out of water which had been hiaden since
white men first came to these parts.
Old lake observers have asserted that the
water of the lake fluctuates in periods of
seven years. This, they maintain, is the
seventh year, and the water is at the
lowest Jtoint. From now, for three years
and a half, the water will increase in
depth. At the expiration of that time it
will be at the maximum and then will de
crease until the period of seven years is at
an end.
The water is now on the average about
four feet lower than it has been since 1891,
Vessels going in and out of the harbors at
Cleveland, Sar.dusKy, Toledo and other
points where rivers How into the lake and
bring with them more or le^s discharge
have grounded, and considerable loss has
resulted to their owners because of the
lack of water. Some vessels have not been
able to carry full cargoes because they
could not make the .Lake Erie harbor to
which they were consigned.
Windstorms have caused great fluctu
tioi:s in the depth of the lake. On the
night of November 25 a tremendous gale
swept these parts-. It piled the water up
at the east end of the lalce. It lowered the
water at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River
about three feet. At Sandusky it blew so
hard that a portion of the bar, generally
covered with eight or ten feet of water,
was dry. At Toledo the force of the wind
carried so much water out of the Maumee
River than many vessels went aground.
Not far from Cleveland on the evening of
November^ a well-known doctor of North
ern Ohio watered his horse at the shore of
the lake.
The next morning he started from the
point where he had watered the animal on
the preceding evening and walked directly
toward the center of the lake sixty-four
paces, equal to 192 feet, without getting
his feet wet. Before night of the same day
the water had returned and was nearer the
shore than before. It made him think of
the Bible story of Pharoah's army and the
Red Sea. The same windstorm exposed
some of the reefs near the islands, and ves
sels went hard on the rocks where ordina
rily there should have been sum'cicnt
water.
A lake that cuts up didoes of this kind
is not esteemed by those who cruise upon
it in great ships and the lake carriers are
beginning to devise schemes to prevent
some of these disturbances. One of the
plans proposed is to build a dam across
the Niagara River. Colonel Jared A.
Smith, the United States engineer at this
point, says the plan is perfectly feasible,
and sees no reason why the flow at Niagara
might not be checked* for the benefit of
the commerce of the lakes.
Vessel owners are besieging Congress an- I
Dually fora twenty-foot channel lrom one |
end of the great lake highway to the other, j
which is surely needed, but a twenty-foot
channel will be of little avail if Lake Erie
is going to shift its depth as often as a
woman changes costumes at a fashionable
resort. Colonel Smith says there are no i
engineering obstacles in the way of a Nia- j
©btn^-* ~ : : — : : -^xqj
gX^.^ .. - -^>"&
fc: IHE 1 IERCURY --S
©^^. jl fl i jl; i jl jq tv^ uiv * -^^
©a^^ ..-. ... ■ -^>^®
Souvenir 3
Owru- •• A ftik^/ . wm m||||W -^^©
\j£r*~r~ ' --^N> *»:^>
©BJ^N^- ' ;.. . . -^V^S
g^: Sunshine, Fruit -j ftw READY P 5
and Flowers... I^^' " l CftL ' 1 ' -^2
®^^- Contains 325 "pages, 9x12 inches, j-^-^Bi
g^ and is ILLUSTRATED FROM 939 PHOTOGRAPHS. "^^®
Mundreds of beautiful half-tone engravings, showing L^2|
•ft^^*^ the aspect of the county from January to December. i~~<t2>
■'5^- The Fruit Industry Illustrated -*><©•
©^^" * -^-^©
®*-^- And described the most valuable treatise upon the -^^3
Santa Clara County Fruit Industry that has ever been
Cv^ published, giving details of the business from nursery
©t»^v- to market, with crops, prices and profits. . -^/^
©»^" . * -~«*3 '
f l^- A Work of Art, h~«*
flsV-^l Suitable for the center-table, and a most appropriate rv^®
2^H Christmas present. There is scarcely a question that
fl^^.i could be asked concerning Santa Clara County and its I^q
©^-s^. resources that is not fully answered. • r i-'»*«9
&^^" '.' • 000000000000 U^-«4J)
&*~- l^^«q»
©b^r- : The Mercury SouTenir will be sent, expressage' Rrepaid, -^^O
©■^^ any part of the United States at the following rates: Bound in -^^O
-^ Bristol board, 75 cents per copy; bound in leatherette, $1.25 per \^^^^
copy. Sent to any part of the United States, postage prepoid, at ' :
q^^ the following rates: Bound :in Bristol board, 800 per copy
Qz^r. bound in leatherette, $1.35 per copy. The Souvanir is sold over Z^^
gvv^ the counter at the Mercuky office at the following prices: Bound -y^jjj
®^n^- in Bristol board, 60 cent* per copy; bound iv leatherette, $i.OD ~^^&
&»s^r~ percopy. •- . „ ' -^•-^j
.^^ ■•■•'"■• Address CH AS. M. SHORTRIDQE, - /v^*
,g3ferv^- ■'■-; ' ■' -.:?»'": :-v;-v---- • „ --„- t . •;----•. '-,-■-., > f -'.v:.;: '
t^r^ San Jose, California. -^©
Q*^- - ■- " ■•■ ■••:- :■•-:•■ ■■■■".*■ ■■■•• '■■ ■-'' '■ _____ll_.~~^l'
gara dam, and all that will be necessary
will be to luild a substantial stone barrier
from the L'iited States to Canada. Pr.h
ab!v it would increase the depth of water
in Lake Erie from two to four feet. Of
course, it woild spoil Niagara Falls to
some extent, and so many tourists might
no longer conn to see the thousands of
tons of water nour over the limestone
cliffs. Some watvr would find its way into
Lake Ontario, bit it would not be the vol
ume of the present time. Instead of Nia
gara Falls it would be Niagara gorge.
Another caper t at the lake kicked up
during the past summer was to possess
itself of a tidal wave. One day the people
along the south shore of the lake were
astonished to see a vail of water come
boomine and bulging toward the shore,
threatening to carry away everything
within the limits of its -iestruciivt' force.
It broke without doing much damage.
Some cause had to be found for it, and by
and by it was determined that it could
have been nothing more than the water
returning to the south shore after a pro
longed blow from the south, followed
almost immediately by a gale from the
north. Lake Erie can do all sorts of funny
things as a lake.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
On account of the phenomenal drought
the Missouri River, about and above
Pierre, S. D., where normally it is of a vol
ume well entitling it to the name of the
"Bie: Muddy." is now little more than a
creek. A week aeo the water was two feet
below the lowest mark ever before re
corded, and in some places there was not
more than two feet of water in the main
channel.
M. Wilson, conductor on the Chicago,
MilwauKee and St, Paul road, was hurt in
a peculiar manner. He had a long, sharp
lead-pencil in his hand and icot off with it
at Hericon to get orders. Running along
he collided with a boy on the platform
with such force as to force the pencil
through his clothing and into his stomach.
A bad wound was inflicted, and it is feared
that the internal injury may result se
riously.
President Crespo of Venezuela is a tall,
heavy man, with a countenance revealing
force and determination. He is very ab
stemious in his habits and generally goes
to hed at 8 o'clock in the evening. He is
in the habit of summoning his Ministers
to him at sunrise. He is fond of cattle
ranching, and owns a large number of
acres no* far from the Venezuelan capital.
He is a fine equestrian.
During the time of the Incas, when the
natives of Peru had attained a high posi
tion in the conslruction of communica
tions, they formed suspension-bridges of
the tough fibers of the maguey, a kind of
osier, for the purpose of crossing the huge
pulleys and swift streams of their moun
tain districts. These osiers they wove
into enormous cables, sometimes over 200
feet In length, and attacned the end either
to heavy blocKa of masonry or occasionally
to the natural rock. Planks were then
laid, transversely and thus a road formed.
A medical authority truthfully sounds
the praises of onions. They are excellent
blood-purifiers. Boiled onions used fre
quently in a family of children will ward
off many diseases to which the little ones
are subject. As^an external application
they are successfully used in ca^es of
croup and earache. They are good for the
complexion, and a lady who has a won
derfully clear, hue complexion attributes
it to the liberal use of onions as food.
People troubled with wakefulne«s may be
assured a eood night's rest often if just
before retiring they will eat a raw oniuu.
When troubled with a hard cough, if a
raw onion is eaten tl.e phlegm will loosen
almost immediately and can then be
easily expectorated.
NEW TO-DAY.
|jS©E4H3a©EOßo2G3©a«a©!3oßoa"
;,■:,:. ,:..^:,",c : ;v., .
in
. "Will continue to he the
finest of Key Vest All
Havana Cigars^ £<£&&
2 for 25c, JOe, 3 for 25c .
■**. -^ -^ -^ "^ -^ -^ -^ **► -^ -^
■•■•■•■•■•■•■•■•■•■•■•■•■ i