The San Francisco call. [volume], June 13, 1903, Image 6

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

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

                
The Chinese Six Companies of Oakland have of
frred a reward for the capture of a murderer who
has hz$ considerable success in suspending the lives
of: tome of his Celestial brethren. It is needless to
suggest that this is not one of the ways in which
Monfcot malefactors may either be captured or con
victed. —.
In reading, recent reports of' the'- election which
has been.in progress in Berlin one must turn more
than once to the date line to make sure that he. is
not reading the glorious record of some American
town: There have been fights enough' among' the
voters to shadow splendor upon any of our own
communities.
Ex-President . Cleveland writes delightfully of the
gentle art of fishing, but why in thename of all the
grammarians does he insist upon splitting his infini
tives? :Does he think our good will necessarily must
disarnvall criticism? . i . 7 • . •
The Czar of Russia, it is said, is afraid to permit
Ch'na . under any circumstance to place herself in
readiness for war or to prepare herself ajrainst the
aggressions of those who \\ould despoil her. It is
not to be expected that a national or an individual
highv-ayman cares to face a gun in the hand of him
vho is to be robbed.
Possible Exchange of Territory.
MELBOURNE, June 12.— In view of the
exposed condition of the British New
Guinea frontier, contiguous .to .the Ger
man and Dutch territory, the Australian
Government has opened confidential pour
parlers in order to ascertain the possi
bility of effecting exchanges of terri
tories, v' -•'¦¦* . . ¦ : ¦-' / .
Since President Roosevelt has returned to Wash
ington he has demonstrated that his idea of a stren
uous life involves the emphatic proposition of mak
ing it decidedly warm for those that have been neg
lectful or dishonest in office. What an. ominous
sound his ultimatum, that let no guilty man escape,
must have to the recreant ones in the postofike.
The King of Italy has given the yellow press an
other opportunity to insult the President of the
United States. In sending to President Roosevelt
a gift of friendliness and good will the Italian King
has pleased most of us in the thought -that we live
on good terms with our neighbor?.' The ¦•'yellow
sheets will sec in it a degradation of our institutions.
The accomplishment ofso much in the line of silk
manufacture is one of the marvels of American in
dustry. The figures giving the details of growth are
as glittering as the general statement. In 1870 the
total number of operatives in the industry was 6000
and their wages amounted to about $2,000,000 a yean
In 1002 there were employed about 70,000 opera
tives, and their wages amounted in the aggregate to
more thanr $25,000,000. The census of 1890 gave the
total value of all American silk productt at £12,000.
000. In, 1002. notwithstanding the fact that the
pricts of raw silk were less than half what they were
in 1870, the' value of the product was upward of
$1 10,000,000.
In addition to the $110,000,060 worth ' of silk
products manufactured in American mills the con
sumption of the country was so large that to meet
AT the recent annual dinner of the Silk Associa
tion of America President 'Huber in the
course of his address cited a number of sta
tistics showing the rapid progress made both in the
manufacture and in the consumption of silk goods
in the United States. He concluded by saying: "At
the time of the World's Exposition in Paris in 1900
1 had' to state that the United States, as to con
sumption of raw silk and as to value of manufac
tured goods, was second to France only; but we
havecrossed the French boundary line— we are sec
ond to none now; we have taken the lead and we
OUR SILK INDUSTRY
Among the many reports which are now flooding
the City Hall at the close of the fiscal year is one
which st?nds out in remarkable originality from all
the rest. It is from the Superintendent of Public
Schools, who says that he lias done more work than
the law compels him to do. A man' who will thus
fly in the face of traditions honored in ouV public
service is tempting fate.. '
As a' monumental example of idiocy the expression
of a dying Louisiana duelist, who had tilled his foe
and in the shadow of death the other day declared
that he and his friend died friends, should live to
prove that some dead fools are worse even than living
ones. •
ART DEPARTMENT— C. G.. City A
person desiring to enter the art de'part
ment of a daily newspaper should make
applicatlou to the head thereof and give
evidence of ability. As a rule the pay of
a newspaper artist depends upon the abil
ity of the individual.
HUMAN BONES-Subscriber. City. The
number of separate bones in the skeleton
of a human being is generally reckoned
at i06. the teeth not being included. There
arc 22 in the skull. 54 in the trunk. M In
the upper extremities. 60 in the lower ex
tremities and 6 ossicles of. the tympanum.
As several thousand people will attend
a special committee was appointed on
city transportation, consisting of Rev. P
S. Casey. T. Fo>y. P. A. Byrne and P. J
Curtis.
Th«» annual outing of St. Peter's pafish
will take place next Tuesday at Glen El
len Park. Sonoma County. The boat will
take those who attend the picnic from the
Tiburon ferry at 9 o'clock. A fine band
will be in attendance all day. and valu
able gate and game prizes will be award
ed.
The following comprise the committees
having charge of the affair:
Rav. P. S. Ca3«y. honorary chairman; Hev
John Smith, assistant: P. J. Hagjerty. chair
man; Ed J. O'Rourhc. secretary; P Eitrsins
treasurer. Transportation and grounds P j'
Ha«*erty. E. Fitzcatrick. O. E. Doyle John
O'Brien. P. R. Curtis and Patrick .B'isstnj
Chairman committee on tickets — T. R CurtN
Press and publicity — Dr. H. Lagan P J Cur
Us and T. R. Curtis. Music— Jamea C. ODoji
nell, Edward W. Fltzpatrtck and Daniel R*sr
don Jig and reel dancing— John Kenny,
chairman. Pavilion floor manager — John F
Welch: assistants— Joseph Ward. Miss Camp
bell and Miss Hajfsrerty. FJoor— M. D. Rior
dan, Omar Doyle. Robert O'Connor. P J r - a
mony. Joseph Fitzgerald. James Sullivan Mix
M. Meehan. Miss L.. Masuire. Miss C Fif
patrick and Mrs. O'Brien. Games — P. j Cur
tis (chairman), the Rev. Fathers L*nd an«1
Mackey. Daniel R*»ardon. James CRrlen .1
C\ O'Donnell. D. F. Ke«fe. D. J Foley T
B. Stevin. George- Ryan. K. T. Brownr'
Brother Phelan. William Doyle'. Patrick \sh*'
C O. Ilosan and S. Brinckat. Prises — L. c'
Cull, chairman.
ST. PETEK'S PARISHIONERS
WIXL GO TO GLEN" ELLEN
Annual Outing Takes Place Tuesday
and Large Attendance Is
Expected.
NJL>1 since
An Austrian army awfully arrayed
. - '• " Bcldly by battery besieged Belgrade
-.h^s that ancient seat of the Thracians been the
,>c'ejie of .such a tragedy as the wholesale murders of
VVvMrKsday night.
-Srrvia". overrrn in turn by the Byzantines and the
Turks- has maintained an individuality for a thou
'•-zf,<j and \\i; guaranteed its independence as
* .Stale by the treaty of Benin. When not fighting
io'r • independence against external enemies,, with
• cv/mmcndable patriot?<m( and courage, the Servians
h>ve >ittT\ cr.tting each other's. throats with a villain
<<i:s._ induftry not commendable at all. Belgrade is
>tr*?fg:calry one or the strongest cities in Europe
3nd':the whole country. lying on the spurs of the
Alps 'that slope toward the Danube, is admirably
-it tratcli for defense. The people are pious and
initrjatc. 90 per cent of them being unable to read
<•> -.ur-ite." .The Government has been controlled by
a : |;jr.all triads of desperate men. who stop at nothing
10 alh«e\e their ends.
• .Tke Obrfnoviich dynasty has claimed the throne
'fact .\£j). because its founder, a hog driver, freed
trie country of the Turks. It has produced no ruler,
•h'tnvevn-.. hoLCd for his wisdom or humanity, nor any
;vhc«. sought the real interests of the people by pro-
Tnc^ng. their education and advancement. The many
rnolutiobs which in turn have dethroned one branch
of th^Obrcnovitches to elevate another have been
for the achievement of power and not for the ad
vancement of principles nor the promotion of civili
sation This latest and bloodiest tragedy of all,
which obliterates the dynasty of the hog driver to
found another on Black George, will not differ from
All that preceded, except in the heartless cruelty of
the murderers who conspired for its execution and
:n a cowardly way shot down a defenseless woman.
The murdered King was like his predecessors, a
profligate' and debauchee, but in his last moments
he took hold of the world's heart by refusing to
keep his crown by repudiating !m wife, and by his
caiUnt defen-e of the unfortunate woman against
her cousin and assassin.
We habitually recoil from the dj-nastic tragedies
at Constantinople, where poison, the sack and bow
string are invoked to change an administration. But
it must be admitted that the Mohammedans on the
GnMen Horn have never exceeded in dramatic bru
tality these Christians on the Danube.
Lyekily the brutal excesses of the Ser^an Princes
have- made it impossible for them ever to Contract
i patrimonial alliance »*ith any of the royal houses j
oi the Continent, so that the nations look upon
tr:e?e murders in Belgrade as a family affair with
"Inch they have no concern. If the Servians butcher
1 heir Kinjr and Queen to make merry holiday in
.BeJ^rade. it is their affair, and the nations are in
different.
Perhaps the United States has a greater interest in
it thitT any other nation, because a considerable
fraction of our immigration is of the "vitch" races
people reared in sodden ignorance at home, with no
knowledge of human rights protected by law and
with the clannish habit which prevents their assimila
tion here. We are getting too many of these, and
they bring the same truculent instincts which turned
the royal palace of Belgrade into a butcher shop.
THE SERVIAN TRAGEDY
NEW YORK, June 12.— The following
Californians are in New York: From San
Francisco— J. Altmark and B. Bloom, at
the Hoffman; I. Holdberg. at the Savoy:
J. T. Goodman and P. V. Mighels, at tho
Kensington; W. A. Hewctt, at the Impe
rial; Mrs. C. Johnston, at the Manhattan;
L. Lennert. at the Metropolitan: Mrs. R.
V. Musgrave, at- the Broadway Central;
Mrs. W. Kip and Miss Kip, at the Earl
ingto^: T. E. Selfridge, at the Murray
Hill; R. S; Woodward, at the Gilsey, and
E. R. King, at the Park Avenue.
From Los Angeles-C. Seligman. at the
Manhattan; J. Fleischman. at the Impe
rial, and R. Stephens, at the Hoffman.
Calif ornians in New York.
Richard Burke of Ireland, who repre
sents foreign heirs in the Donahue estate,
which owns the Occidental. Hotel and
other property in this city, arrived last
night and is stopping at the Occidental.
It is his custom to make annual visits to
San Francisco in the interest of those he
represents.
J. W. Goad, a rancher of Colusa. is at
the Grand.
E. L. Streich, a merchant of Napa. is at
the Russ. v
T. W. Tegeler. a merchant of Fresno, is
at the Lick.
R. G. Lund, a grocer of Los Angeles,
is at the Lick.
A. J. Lewis, a merchant of Sacramento,
is at the Russ.
F. J. Heldt, a fruit man of Los Angeles,
is at the Palace.
L. R. Pouridstone. a - mining man of Gas
ton, is at the Granu.
Dr. A. L. Rogers of Frankfort, Ger
many, is at the Palace.
J. Jones, a business man of Sacramento,
is a guest at the Russ.
George Kislingbury. a mining expert of
Los Angeles, is registered atjthe Grand.
Edgar W. Poore, paymaster of the
cruiser New York, is registered at the
Occidental.
Senator and Mrs. Thomas K.' Bard and
Miss Bard arrived from the south yester
day, and are stopping at tlie Occidental.
They will leave for Europe this evening.
William Hood, chief engineer of the
Southern Pacific, is confined to his home
on account of illness. His friends claim
that nVi is overworked and that with a
few days' rest he will again be restored
to his usual good health*
John F. Downing, who is attached to
the United States Attorney General's of
fice iii Washington, arrived here last even
ing and registered at the Palace. He is
here to take evidence in a number of land
cases in which the Government is inter
ested.' ,';;O'.:
During the session the people of Sac
ramento will entertain the grand officer*
and delegates when not in session In the
PERSONAL MENTION
ON Monday next the grand officers
and delegates will assemble in
Sacramento for the purpose of at
tending the session of the Grand
; Grove of United Ancient Order
of Druids of California.
The reports that are to be presented
will show that the order during the past
twelve months made an extraordinary
gain both In finance and membership, the
increase of members being a net gain of
more than 1900, the largest net gain that
has ever been made in the history of the
order. The number of initiations during
the y.ear> was within 300 of what Noble
Grand Arch C. A. Guglielmoni announced
he woulditry to secure when, he assumed
office, namely'3000. There are now in the
jurisdiction 114 groves, with a member
ship of 10,000. The amount disbursed dur
the year for relief of the sick was-$43.
442 95: to widows. $6S1; for funerals. $S4S0 67,
making a total of $50,601 S3. The assets of
the order amount to $209,703. being an In
crease over the previous year of $23,973.
PIANO ON* INSTALLMENT— K.. City..
Whether a firm from whom you secured
what is known as "ah Installment piano"'
can take away the same for non-payment
of installments at fixed periods depends
on the nature of the contract.
MAILS TO ALASKA-A. S.. City. Mails
for Alaska are sent to Seattle, the distrib
uting point, and from there are forwarded
by steameis leaving for the various points
north.
ANSWERS TO QUERIES.
The Grand CJrcle of the Druidesses will
also meet in Sacramento at the same
time and place. The reports of that or
ganization, which is the female braiich
of the Order of Druids, will show that
during the year under the guidance of
Mrs. Frances J. Williams the order made
a gain of 330 net and that the member
ship is now 1330.
. Those who want to be grand trustees
arc Jacob Streb of Napa. Dr. G. W. Si
chel, San Francisco; C. D. Dorn, Salinas:
C. F. Wedemeyer. San Francisco, and
Dr. G. W. Debruvne.
State Capitol. There will be a concert,
banquet and ball, also sight seeing under
the supervision of the Druids' committee
of the city named.
It is expected that there will be consid
erable excitement at the election for the
various offices to be filled. George Beck
of Livermore is in line for promotion from
deputy grand arch to noble grand arch,
and it is probable that he will be chosen
for that office, "as no one has been named
against him. For deputy grand arch
there are J. S. Hasan of San Francisco
and Charles Deleigh of Stockton; for
grand treasurer, F. J. Horn, the incum
bent, has no opposition. For the office of
grand secretary are James F. Martlnonl
of San Francisco, the Incumbent; Henry
Menke. Dr. Conrad. S. C. Glover, all of
San Francisco: George C. I>uce of Colma
and L,. F. Uunand of San Rafael. For
grand marshal are named W. O. Antono
vich of tan Francisco. J. G. Johnson of
St. Helena, Dr. J. W. Creagh of San
Francisco. I>. Wagner of Merced, J. L.
Contat of Elmhurst and J. W. Kicjd of
San Francisco. For grand inside guard
ian^ W. S. Gloria of Sacramento and D.
Giovanini and M. Pozzi of San Fran
cisco.
Later in the evening an informal recep
tion was held in the suild rooms adjoining
the church. The business meeting of the
confraternity was held early In the day
at the Occ'dental Hotel.
The feast of Corpus Chri»ti was ob
served in this city on Thursday, as else
where throughout the Anglican commu
nion*, by the priests and laymen of th*
confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament.
Special masses were said at the Church
of St. Mary the Virgin and Church of th*
Advent. At the latter place of worship
the annual united services were held :<r
8 o'clock in the evening; in the presence
of an immense congregation of devout
worshipers.
They were of the most impressive char
acter. The altar was richly vested and
made brilliant with innumerable ll?ht?c
tapers, while the air was heavy with the
combined fragrance of choice flowers and
the odors of rare incense.
Vespers of the Blessed Sacrament wer?
sung by the Rev. Father Ray of St.
John's Church of Oakland. The mus'j
was in solemn old Enzlisn Plain aons.
The celebrants were Rev. Father Herbcr:
Pafrish and Rev. Father Charles Lathrojj.
The sermon was delivered by the R^v.
Father Gushee of Ontario. Cal. - Follow
ing th*> ssrmnn ratne the solemn pvuc*v
sion. The Host was carried through tr^
church attended by the priests, arrayed
in colden vestments, deacons In tlieir
copes, acolytea, incense bearers and
a large number of beautiful little girl.;
dressed in white with Ions white veils
crowned with mvrtle wreaths. At tlW
conclusion the beneaiction of the Blessed
Sacrament was celebrated by the «ev.
Father Walter B. Clark of the Church of
St. Mary the Virgin.
Those assisting were Rev. Fathers Rat
clifTe. L.yman. Venablcs and Rev. Mr.
Monges.
Services of Impressive Character Are
Celebrated at Church of
the Advent.
CORPUS CHBISTI FEAST
IS SOLEMNLY OBSERVED
Of late a great deal o? attention has been given to
the outburst of tariff discussion in Great Britain
resulting from the announcement of Mr. Chambcr
lain"s scheme for a return to protection. That plan
has been voted down in Parliament, but it is sig
nificant that Prime Minister Balfour insisted before
the vote was taken that the question should not be
regarded at present as one of practical politics/and
added that while he himself continues to be a free
trader, yet he. has "an open mind on the subject,";
and realizes that the conditions that confront Great
Britain to-day arc widely different from those pre
vailing at the time the free .trade system was adopted.
With such a speech from the Prime Minister at
the close of a heated debate and with the cheering
that greeted Chamberlain on his entry into the
House, it is clear that the victory of the free traders
is by no means a decisive one. Balfour stated ex
plicitly that the issue has been put forth at this time
mainly for the purpose of beginning a campaign of.
education. The vote of the Commons, therefore, Ms
far from being the end of the question. The Cham
berlain programme will be the chief issue before the
country from now until the next general election,
and the course of events in the Commons may pre- :
cipitate that election within a year. . !
Meantime the Germans are now in the midst of
the canvass for the election of members of the Reichs
tag. The election is to take place next Tuesday. '
Reports from Berlin are to the effect that the domi- \
nant issue in every district of the empire is that of !
commercial treaties and the tariff. The report goes '
on to say: "Most of the dozen or more parties in I
the field have issued declarations upon the question. I
the only conspicuous exception is the old Liberal!
party, which has put out no appeal to the electorate, j
but lets each r>i its candidates shape -his platform to)
the exigencies of his own case." * That evasion does i
not affect the issue as a whole, for each candidate is ;
compelled to take some position with relation to the !
dominant' question of the campaign. j
Thus both /he British and the Germans are dis- '
cussing tariff problems, and it is impossible at this !
time. to forecast. what either will do. The fight in]
Germany iV mainly between the Agrarians on the i
one hand demanding a higher rate of protection and •
the Socialists on the other denouncing what they call |
"bread usury." Virtually it is a fight between the !
landowners and farmers against the workingmen of*
the cities. The Socialists are strong and have been '
growing in strength for sonic time past, but the laws I
of representation in the Reichstag are so drawn that i
they cannot obtain in the government a power equal '
tc their voting strength. Thus it is stated that at j
the last general election the Socialists cast one- J
fourth of the total vote, but elected only one-eighth !
of the members of the Reichstag." The advantages!
in the contest are therefore on the side of those who i
are seeking higher protection and we can hardly. ex- !
pect any trade favors from Germany when the new
Reichstag assembles.
Such arc the tendencies of our two most formidable j
competitors in the industrial world. Neither of them !
promises anything to us. Britain can give us no \
more than we can enjoy and may restrict our access |
to her markets. Germany may take the same course, i
In the face of such probabilities it would be foolish j
for us to relax in any particular the watchful j
guardianship we have been keeping* over our do- \
mestic industries. We cannot afford a tariff agita- i
tion at this time. Prudence dictates that we stand!
pat. I
WERE the people of the United States in any
way inclined to enter upon a prolonged
tariff agitation at this time they would rind
in the developments now going on in Great Britain
and in Germany good reason for putting the in
clination aside until it is known what our industrial
and commercial competitors arc going to do. We
have now a safe system of protection as is manifest
by the prosperity of all lines of American industr}-,
and it is clearly good common sense on our part to
let well enough alone instead of tinkering with some
thing which is serving efficiently every economic in
terest of the people.
TARIFFDISCUSSIONS
Under the beneficent influence of American , gov
ernorship the Moros are going to receive a code of
law? which will be a combination of their own and
of ours. It is expected that* under the* new system
ihe murder of American soldiers will be strictly
prohibited whenever possible.
<ZThc -t^sJig^ Call
. .SATURDAY JUNE -13. IOO3
' ' JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor.
, ? egress All Communications to W. S. LEAKE. Manager.
: AND NEWSPAPER
,; - AGENTS.
. Owing to the largely increased cost of
• white paper and the great advance in wages
o£ the men employed in producing a news
.- paper, and in the general cost of production
thereof, the undersigned newspaper publish
• er's find themselves compelled to ask for a
slight increase in the cost of subscription
rates.. •
On and after July 1, 1903, the price of the
• San Francisco newspapers will be as fol
lows: •
CHRONICLE, CALL and EXAMINER,
£8 per year by mail, or 75c per month by
carrier. .
EVENING PAPERS.
BULLETIN, 65 cents per month, includ
ing the Sunday issue, by carrier, or $6.80 per
•year by mail.
... POST, 50 cents per month, without Sun
day issue, by carrier, or $5 per year by mail.
THOMAS GARRETT.
! Publisher Evening Post.
. : R. A. CROTHERS,
Proprietor Bulletin.
:/• - M. H. DE YOUNG,
Proprietor San Francisco Chronicle.
W. R. HEARST,
Proprietor Examiner.
JOHND. SPRECKELS,
' . Proprietor The San Francisco Call.
Ta SUBSCRIBERS LEAVING TOWN FOR THE SUMMER
Call •abacrlber* contemplating a change «r
residence daring the summer months can hare
their paper forwarded br mall to their neir
¦diiressea br notlfrlnR- The Call Business Ofllce.
This paper ttIII a I no be on sale at all summer
reaswta and l« repreaented .»j- a local ngrm In
¦ II tonnii on the coast.
Mr. Pyck again demonstrated hi» useful
gifts as an accompanist and contributed
a group of piano solos.
B LuVNCI I E PA RTI NGTON*.
Less pleasing, though not less remark
able. w?s the rendering of the Kos3im
•Tna Voce Feco Fa. " with its exacting
coloratura handled in fluent and spirited
fashion. The "Mlgnon" "Connate tu 1"
Pays" was repeated and also th<» "Car
men" "Habanera" and "Chanson
Boheme" — in which a desire to hear Mm*
Mantelll in the whole of the opera strong
ly Imposed Itself. The remaining num
bers also Included three of tho songs of
Tuesday's concert, with "Sans Tol" «Guy
dllardeloO, "Ich I.lebe Uich" (Grieg).
"Solveis"s Lied" (Grieg) and "April
Rain" (Oley Speaks).
Admirably gifted as Mme. MantelH
showed herself to be on Tuesday last at
Fischer's, her concert ofr yesterday after
noon proved the singer possessed of even
larger powers. Her Saint-Saens aria
"S' Apre Per Te II Mio Cor" ("Samson
and Delilah") was a truly pplendld ef
fort. Demanding tlie last reach of
dramatic passion and poetry, with also a
vivid Oriental color, the aria was inter
preted in all its phases with a satisfar
tton that left nothing to be aikfd. In
the same, category came- the Rubinstein
"Der Asra," also magnificently conceive-l
and sungr. In both songs were richly in
evidence the singer's full command air!
gifted use of color, her technical accom
plishment?, her compelling 1 passion. To
hear such songs, so sunor. Is worth goin?
far to hear. .
There will not be much public patience with secret
negotiations for the benefit of bank reserve?, which
arc merely evidenx* and admission of the dishonesty
of the bankruptcj'.
There is an old California wheat story which the'
hit banks that are smarting under this last failure
may paste into their book of wisdom and experi
ence. A man who had money gave another several
thousand dollars to invest for him in wheat in ware
house. When he desired to realize he called on his
trustee for the wheat, and there was none. '"But,"
s-aid the trustor. 'you bought the wheat?" "Yes.
but the rats ate it up," was the answer. The trustor
sought an expert in rats and asked how long it would
take the rats to cat up that much wheat. "How
many rats?" asked the expert. "Why, all the rats,"
exclaimed the desperate trustor, who never again saw
money or the wheat or the rats.
The next meeting of the Bankers' . Association
should discuss rats and wheat. On the face of the
last failure it appears that the buyers seem to* have
issued warehouse receipts to themselves and then
borrowed enormous sums on the receipts. There is
no evidence that the bankers who loaned the money
took pains to know that the receipts represented
actual wheat in store, "or that, if they did originally,
the property remained ¦ intact. It seems sure that
receipts were used as collateral representing more
wheat than can be found, and the banks will have tg
be satisfied with the conclusion that the property
y.*s eaten by rats. If the appearance of things in
the failure is actual, an offense has been committed
of which the criminal law takes cognizance. If
."mud" wrre put up as collateral for the $750,000 de
ficiency of assets the men who did it are criminally
and the banks morally liable.
Under our system of business banks are an ab
solute, necessity. They are the means of safekeeping
of the funds of depositors and the instruments of
circulation. Those that are now involved are en
tirely able to stand the loss which saps their rer
serves or may draw on their stockholders, so that
their depositors are perfectly safe. But this safety
is by no means due to the wise precaution of proper
and conservative banking. The methods which ap
pear in this affair may as well have produced com
plete absorption of reserve?, of the credit of the
stockholders, and loss to depositors. The public
is disquieted by the apparent desire of the banks to
covertly negotiate with the bankrupt firm for a re
turn of some of the money, which many believe
they have secreted, rather than invoke the law for
the punishment which is their due, if what is charged
against them be true. If the bankrupts have bor
rowed money on wheat as collateral and then sold
the property -they have been eating their cake and
keeping it. The law docs not permit to any men that
privilege, and they should be punished, no matter
how much bank reserves may suffer.
Bankers especially should not permit it to be said
that the greater the theft the safer is the thief. To
do so is a fearful incitement to the lesser criminals
who prey upon the community. President Roo$ecvlt
has wisely said that public safety demands that no 1
man shall be above the law and no man shall be
below it. We prosecute a man wl)o steals a loaf of
bread worth 5 cents, made of wheat the value of
which is an infinitesimal decimal of a mill. If the
banks excuse themselves for the loss of three-quarters
of a million dollars because that much wheat was
stolen, why should not those who took it be pun
ishrd as well as the larcenist of a loaf?
speculative policy. The farmer who pays insurance
and storage on his wheat is a speculator. The buyer
who does the same thing is a speculator, the only
difference being in the magnitude of his operations.
Now, to the common mind it appears that banks
loaning money, cither to farmer or buyer, under
such circumstances. ?rc taking all the risk of the
speculation, and they should proceed with the great
est caution. Xo one has ever 3'et succeeded in so
cornering wheat as to be able to manipulate its price
up to the high level of the greed which is the master
motive in all such speculation. The Rothschilds
tried to corner the world's wheat many years ago,
and it brought that high house lower than any other
business operation that it. ever undertook. The
corner failed, and the Rothschilds have never since
attempted speculation in food stuffs.
s~*\ ALIFORNIA is startled by another great fail-
I • ure of large speculators in wheat. The unpleas
¦¦^*—^ ant impression is made not so much by the fail
ure itself as by the incidents connected with it. The
failure of the Pacific Bank, during the panic in 1893,
was caused by reckless and speculative banking, car
ried on without regard to the interests and safety of
depositors, whose money was being handled .by the
bank as trustee. This disregard of the rules of bank
ing and the requirements of common honesty it was
hoped had made an admonitory impression that
would not merely restrain all temptation to dis
honesty, but would incite that" caution which good
banking requires.
Holding wheat in warehouse is in its essence a
MANTELLI'S
POWERS ARE
ADMIRABLE
the demand there were imported, during the\ year
silk goods 1 to 'the value of more than $32,640,000.
The industry is built up out of imported raw ma"
terial. It is now for us to develop an industry that
will produce the raw material at home. The Call
has recently had occasion. to note the work now
being done. by the Agricultural Department to en
courage silk production as a side industry- wherever
the climate is suitable. Private enterprise must of
course co-operate with the Government in the task.
California has exceptional advantages for the
industry, and it will be seen from the figures cited by
President Huber that there will be a big demand
for the product if we can furnish it at fair prices.
DRUIDIC GROVE AND CIRCLE
WILL MEET IN SACRAMENTO
THE WHEAT FAILURE.
THE SAN FBAKCISCU GALL, SATURDAYi .JUJiJi 13, 19J3.
NOBLE GRAND ARCH AND NOBLE
GRAND SECRETARY OF THE
DRUIDS OF CALIFORNIA.
6
Townsend's California place fruits and
candies, 60c a pound, in ; artistic - llre-
etched boxes. -A' nice present for Eastern
friends. 715 Market st., above Call. bid*.;*
"~ — ' . . * » ? ¦' ' . ' '.. ,
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business houses and i public men by the
Press Clipping: Bureau (All en" a \ 235 Call-
fcinia street. Telephone Main 1042. '- •
I If You Want a . j
g i ft '§
1 1 Summer Vacation jj
| . Anywhere in the West - |
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l| Next Sundays Calf]!
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1 1 ¦ "At the Rainbow's End" f
§ * By Jack London. . |
!From Santiago to despair flic (&\ the |
or f Highwayman o
I The Gnomes' Daughter Fable. I
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|f / By Emerson Hough;^.S . . 5
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