The San Francisco call. [volume], April 14, 1904, Image 8

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

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

                
-These things should ; direct our attention to ',our
selves and should modif j that spirit which restlessly ina-
IT is not pleasant. to read the debates over legislation
' to protect Presidents of the United. States 1 from an
archist murder, nor to contemplate the necessity for
exerting ultimate force to restrain organizations of men
from denying to others the rights which they claim for
themselves. These things going on in our' own country
arrest the attention of the thoughtful. Much against" his
will the President has to be guaVded by officers in; plain
clothes, -and his. partisan, enemies make- this the excuse
for attacking him with accusations that he is of imperial
istic tendencies. V
The impresses one that civilization has not
yet-reached the marrow of men and is merely arsurface
affair, while, beneath there is the fiber of the barbarian
with all of his motives and his uncontrolled passions
But the conditions in this country are demoted to second
place when we read that* the Pope, "a most amiable and
inoffensive personality, has to be guarded by, detectives'
in the robes of priests while he. celebrates mass- -itr'St:
Peter's. There is a screw, loose , in . Christendom 1 when
the head of a, considerable portion ' of the Christian
church cannot perform the rituals of his- church without
being in danger of assassination.
THE CRIMINAL INSTINCT.
The Russians announce with much , vociferation and
many repetitions that they < are very glad France and
Great Britain have -decided to remain at peace.; It -may
be the Russians really feel a genuine love for peace, but
the chances are their delight over the British and French
agreement is due solely to their gratification that noth
ing is likely tohappen to raise the price of war supplies;
Appointments -are usually made one year in
advance of date of admlsrfon • by the Secre
tary, of War upon the nomination of the den
ator. orr Representative. ¦ These nomination*
may either . be made after .competitive ! exam
ination or given direct. - at the . option of the
Representative. The Representative may nom
inate : a legally - qualified second candidate, no
be designated the alternate. } Th9 altercate
will receive from the War . Department a let
ter of appointment, and will be examined «ith
the regular appointee, and if duly qualified
will be admitted to the Academy In the event
of the failure of the principal to pass toe pre
scribed preliminary examinations - Appointees
to the Military Academy must be between sev
enteen and twenty-two years of ase. .free from
any • mnimity . which snay ¦ render them ; nnn;
for military service, am! able to pass a cartful
examination In reading, writing, spelling. Eng
lish irrammar." English composition.' Knglifh
literature.', arithmetic, algebra. - through • quad
ratic • equations. •• plane . geometry, descriptive
geography." and < the elements of, physical geog
raphy, especially the geography of the United
States:. United States history, the outlines of
general history, ami the general principles Of
physiology . and hyeiene. *
WEST POINT VACANCIES— R. C.
City. When vacancies occur fc-r any
State at the Military Academy. West
Point, the Representatives from the
State in -which there Is a vacancy are
notified by the War Department and
they Droceed to make a selection or
selections. Application' for a" cadetship
should be forwarded to the,Represen
tative f rom^ the district in which .the
applicant .lives. -If, the examination for
admission.is to be a competitive one
the Representative-receivlng\the appli
cation will notify ' the 'applicant.
The Berkeley moths have temporarily let go of the
university professors' gowns to take a flutter at the.noble
oaks, and the ladies' club has appointed a paris green re
ception committee for the function. Better a nice dark
corner in a woolly gown with an occasional outing to
an electric light than to'seek the intellectual' atmosphere
of a university neighborhood if you have a name like
Phryganidia Californica.
"Red skirts have stopped fast trains.
Italian women . gathering coal along
the line when the harvest was good
flagged both' freight and fliers."
All women wearing red skirts found
on the line of the company will be
summarily arrested, and the detectives
have been Instructed to try, to keep
the offenders off the line of the road.
Workingmen will also be forbidden to
wear red shirts.
The Philadelphia Public Ledger
prints a dispatch from Pittsburg, dated
April 5, which tells of a novel order
sent out on the Pennsylvania Railroad.
"Let no woman wearing a red skirt
come near the tracks of the* Pennsyl
vania Railroad" is an, order that came
from the company offices In Philadel
phia. When the . order was received
there was considerable amusement
among the local officers. Said one of
them:
No Red Skirts.
The Aleutian archipelago is along the
chosen i>ath of Pacific commerce. The
fact - that, ' as fishermen point out, • the
future cod fisheries of the world will
be conducted along the Aleutian Islands
would alone make them immensely
valuable-'and would insure their occu
pation and settlement by a" hardy race
of men. These islands have a still fur
ther value. Concurrent with the shore
line explorations conducted by Captain
McLellan and his : nautical ' experts in
the revenue service, Professor -Trevor
Kincaid of the University "of Washing
ton," an ' alert Western scientist, has
been making, a study of the valleys and
mountain slopes of the islands. -He
¦first became Interested in Alaska at the
time, of the Harriman expedition. As
a result of .this voyage of scientific
discovery"; he amazed , the entomological
world by the bewildering collection of
insects he broughtout of "Alaska, thou
sands of them - being species that "de
pend for existence on the ; nectar of
blossoms. It was a revelation not only
of. the presence of unnumbered flower
hunting hymenoptera, coleoptera and
lepidoptera In Alaska, but: incidentally
It called, the attention of sciehtiflc/men
to' the fact that Alaska, instead* of be
ing a wilderness of perpetual ice! was
a vast ; wild garden.^ Extending his .in
vestigations in subsequent trips' to the
Aleutian chain, Professor. Kincaid • has
made ; the/discovery that . in ' the valleys
and slopes of those islands'a" number of
kinds of succulent forage grasses grow
in luxurious abundance.' *
'<• "I am 5 convinced,"- said he, "that our
beef ' cattle will "ultimately come from
this; interesting _•'. archipelago." — The
Booklovers* Magazine. "¦
The Flozvcry Aleutians.
WORLD'S FAIR— R. T. P., City.
The first "World's Fair" in the United
States opened in the Crystal Palace,
New^ York City, July 14. 1S53. The next
was the Centennial, opened in Philadel
phia in 1876 and the Columbian Expo
sition at Chicago in 1893. The one fol
lowing is the St. Louis Exposition this
year.' There was also the Midwinter
Fair in San Francisco in, 1894. which,
while it contained much from different
parts of 'the world, was not a "world's
fair" in the strict sense of that term.
In the Free Public Library reference
room you will find books that' will give
all the details of these fairs.
WITfi THE DECISION— E. G. B.,
Birds Landing, Cal. In a pugilistic
contest it is not necessary for the hold
er of the championship to be knocked
out in order to lose the championship.
It goes with the decision of the refers*.
IN > THE LONG AGO— The Mission
Subscriber, City. Unless the title of the
article is furnished it. is impossible to
trace through the' index an article that
was published in The Call about eight
or nine years ago. / .
THE CROSS— C. M. C Panhandle
City. The height of the Prayer Cross
in Golden Gate Park published in this
department included- the pedestal on
which it stands, and which is seven feet
high.;
DELAWARE— C. M. C Panhandle
City. In the State of Ohio there is the
city of Delaware, in Delaware County,
lcca^ed in the central portion of the
State.
Ansivers to Queries.
Hark! in his song no tremor of misgiv
ing—
" All of his heart he pours into his lay.
"Love, love, love, and pure delight of
living; . ;: 4 .
"Winter is forgotten; live for love to
>-• •'" day!"
Fair in your face I read the flowery
presage.
Snowy on your brow and rosy on your
mouth,
Sweet in your voice I hear the season's
message:
"Love, Jove, love, and spring in. the
South!" — The Outlook.
Now on the plum the snowy bloom is
drifted; -
Now on the peach the glory of the
rose; =
Over the hills a tender haze is sifted;
Full to the brim the yellow river flows.
Dark cypress boughs with vivid jewels
glisten,
Greener than emeralds shining in the
• sun.
Who has wrought the magic? Listen,
sweeetheart, listen!
The mockingbird Is singing; spring
has .begun.
clings;
Now on- the- elm the misty buds are
1 ¦ swelling;
See how the pine-wood grows alive
* with wings'. f.. •< . -. .
Bluejays fluttering, yodeling and crying;
Meadowlarks sailing low above the
withered grass;
Redbirds whistling clear, silent robins
--- • flying-^— • - ¦ --. ; ~.-
Who has waked the birds up?. What
, has come to pass?
Last year's cotton plants, desolately
bowing.
Stand in the fallows, rugged and for
lorn;
Red are the hillsides of the early plow-
Ing;
Gray are the lowlands, waiting for
the corn.
Earth seems asleep still; but 'tis only
feigning;
Deep in her bosom thrills a sweet un
rest.
Look where the jasmine lavishly is rain
. . ing
' Jove's golden shower into Danae's
, breast.
Now in the oak the sap of life Is welling.
Though- to the bough the rusty foliage
Spring in the South.
THERE is a pretty kettle of fish asimmer ovey in
Colorado, where »the State troops have been called
out to, protect the property of the mines at Tellu
ride. It seems that District Judge Theron Stevens has
ordered the arrest of Adjutant General Sherman M. Bell
and Captain Bulkeley Wells, commanding the militia, for
contempt of- court on acount of their failure to deliver
the person of Charles Moyer, president of the Western
Federation of Miners, upon the presentation of a writ of
habeas corpus issued by this selfsame Judge Stevens.
Not only has'he set the arm of the law in motion, but the
Judge has declared that the Governor and all the execu
tive authority of the State of Colorado are in insur
rection against the law. Governor Peabody calmly
maintains that the military will not give up the miners'
president, nor will it pay any heed to the order for t'.ie
arrest of the officers.
This seems to be the hardest snarl of. all the difficul
ties arising out of the struggle between the mine owners
and tllfe striking operatives in the harassed. State of Coif
orado. To the unfortunate circumstance of State troops
having to be called out in order that the business of a
corporation or corporations may be' carried on peace
fully is now added the vastly more regrettable complica
tion of the strife between. Federal judicial authority and
the government of the State. Governor Peabody has
the entire force of the State's troops to back his decision.
Judge Sawyer has recourse to the higher Federal judi
ciary, even to the Supreme Court of the United States if
a bench of final appeal be necessary;-
It is a knotty problem, this one raised by the refusal of
the State authorities to obey a Federal court, and there
must be worked out some delicate problems of the law
before either the Judge or the. Governorvmay be cen
sured. Governor Peabody evidently rests tlie justness of
the arrest of Moyer upon the fifth amendment to the
constitution of the United States, which says that "no
person shall be held to answer for a capital or other
wise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indict
ment of a Grand Jury except in cases arising in the land
or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service
in. time of war or. public danger." Moyer's arrest was,
then, an act of military necessity, according to the lights
of Governor Peabody. By the Federal constitution also,
which provides that "the privilege* of the writ of habeas
corpus shall not be suspended unless when, in cases of
rebellion or invasions, the public safety may require it,"
Colorado's Governor fortifies himself for the refusal to
heed the writ issued, by the Federal Judge. ,
The Federal Judge plainly justifies his issuance of the
writ by his construction of what constitutes a "case of
rebellion." Evidently believing that no rebellion exists
at the present time in. Telluride, he feels that he acts
perfectly within his rights in calling to account those
who refuse to honor a Federal writ of. habeas corpus. If
the cbief executive of the State refuse \to abide by the
order of. the Judge he puts,, himself^in contempt of the
Federal authority and is subject to impeachment. %
This,. then, is the state of affairs in Colorado. Whether
it. will work itself out satisfactorily or, will <- grow into a
situation wherein the United ' States Government will
have to take an active part remains to be decided^by
future events.
THE CLASH IN COLORADO.
There is said to be trouble brewing
between the British War Office and
General Lord Kitchener cuncerning ih«
abolition of the lance as a weapon of
warfare. The Sirdar contends that the
lance Is a very effective weapon when
used against uncivilized troops, and its
continued use in India, where the fight
ing is mainly against savage tribes, is
no doubt advisable.. Lord Kitchener H
talking only for the Indian army, prob
ably, in. contending. for the retention of
the lance, for since the introduction of
the magazine gun in warfare the cav
,alry charge is. a thing of the past.
"Pig-sticking"- is, doubtless, a very ex
hilarating game when played with «n
enemy armed with matchlocks or old
breechloaders of obselete pattern, but
the game takes on another aspect when
the man on horseback is ordered to
charge troop3 armed with modern
rapid-fire rifles. It doubtless demoral
izes a savage soldier to be run through
the body with a lance, but the civilized
soldier with a magazine rifle in his
hands will not permit himself to be
run through. The cavalryman presents
too striking a mark that he should b*
permitted to get within -lance preach,
and against well-trained troops he
would not be permitted to get within
spearing distance.
The Lance in Warfare.
. A; dispatch from London says: "It is doubtfcnl whether
the. long expected engagement for the possession of Yalu
River will ever take place— certainly not unless the Rus
sians have been heavily reinforced." The only value of
such a dispatch is that it confirms public opinion. ' In
fact, the doubtfulness of any important engagement be
tween the Japs and Russians in the .near future has now
become so great that any occurrence of the kind would
be hailed as a surprise party. •
A grocer of the Western Addition a
short time since celebrated the silver
anniversary of his wedding, and to
make the. affair worthy of the occa
sion he had a fine supper prepared
at which he acted as the host. A fine
turkey, done to a turn, was laid be
fore him and as he took up the carver
and fork he turned to the lady guest
seated nearest to hfm, and, desiring
to know if she had any particular
choice, asked, "What. part of the bird
would you prefer?"
>sThe answer came, "The leg." Then
he turned to the next guest with the
same question and the reply was, "The
leg.". To a third, a fourth and a fifth
and then a sixth guest he propounded
the same question. and to his discom
fort he heard each, evidently uncon
scious of what the" other had said, say,
"the leg." ....
The host, allowing the carving im
plements to drop to the table, ex
claimed as sc-on as he could recover
from' his astonishment: ''My friends,
I'd like to accommodate you, but^what
are you thinking about? Do you think
that I'm about to carve a centipede?"
The host was allowed to use his own
judgment after that.
The Cancer's Dilemma.
avoided by people who have a weak
ness for running up hotel bills without
having the means to pay them, for
under a Manx law anyone not a native
of the island may be imprisoned' under
such circumstances. To lock up a mau
because he cannot pay what he owes
Is, ot course, a somewhat illogical pro
ceeding, for it means adding the cost
of keeping and feeding him to the Ios3
caused by his default. But possibly
the occasional exercise of this law may
be profitable to the hotel ' keepers of
Manxland by acting as a warning.
Prevention, however, being less ex
pensive, as a rule, than cure, it would
pay tlie Isle'of Man hotels to append
a notice to all advertisements of the
attractions of the island calling atten
tion to the fact that visitors who try
to- leave their hotel bills unpaid can
be locked up.— Westminster Gazette.
i When the late A; H. Garland was
I Attorney General,' during Cleveland's
first administration, he brought from
I Arkansas an old - friend named James
H. Ward, who was made watchman
and placed in charge of the building at
"bight.
A telegram was received late one
night addressed to the "Department of
Justice," which Ward . opened and
found that the sender . of the '' message
wanted to know whether there was
any statute that forbade the killing of
a man who was a common- drunkard
and a public nuisance. Ward concluded
that the Attorney General should not
be disturbed at so late an hour with
this inquiry, and as an immediate an
! swer was requested sent this reply:
I ¦ "None that I -know of." -
Good Advice.
"The winds that waft fame blow
from the east to the west" is a saying
whose truth no one familiar with the
history of American literature will
question, but in the case of James L.
Ford's "Brazen Calf" fame seems to
be traveling in an easterly direction,
and already the book has made itself
felt In London, where it Is accepted
for its serious side rather than for j
Its qualities as ah amusing satire. Al- j
The Scribners announce the Imme
diate publication of a book by the. late
Henry Seton Merriman under the title
of "Tomaso's Fortune and Other Sto
ries." The volume is made up of the
6hort stories — nearly a score of them
— that^ie left at his death, stories said
to possess in an unusual degree the
qualities that have made his novels
acceptable to a multitude of readers.
The themes are varied — from a Span
ish cafe to a field hospital in India or
South Africa, with an admixture of
sea stories of an original character.
The treatment is all dramatic, the ac
tion rapid, the incidents salient, the
figures strongly marked types. Alto
gether the book shows that Mr. Mer
rlman was the master of the art of the
short story as well as the novel. Early
in autumn the same house will publish
•'The Last Hope," the novel Mr. Mer
riman completed some time before his
death, and the last one which will ap
jjp.-.r from his pen. Since its comple
tion it has been in the possession of
his publishers and will be put into
book form without appearing first as
a serial.
The novel, which compares in
length and completeness of plot and
historical • , setting with any Mr.
Merriman . has written, has also all
the power and fascination of his most-.
notable and popular stories. I
iv.-' • proceeded to the Westward, and
found the River of the Illinois, which
he call'd the River of Seignelay, and
following its course came into the MIs-
EiFipi. where the other discharges it
self. . . . All along its Banks he
found many Savage Nations with
whom by means of his Presents h?
enter'd into Alliances, and gave the
Country the Name of Louisiana, to
honour the x '"rne and Memory of our
August Monarch. ... At length the
Course of the Missisipl eonvey'd Mon
sieur de la Sale to its Mouths, and he
arriv'd there in the Month of April
1682 or 16S3." :i-
"The errat Reputation Monsieur de
la Sale had gain'd, and his mighty
Projects, occasioned a Jealousy in some
and Envy In others. Hi? own Country
men thwarted his Designs; but he sur
mounted all those Obstacles and re
turn'd into Canada, about the year
1676. . . . He set out at length, and
"Robert CaveJier. commonly call'd
Monsieur do la Sale, a Native of Koan.
of a good Family, having been educated
in Piety and Learning, vent over very
young into Canada and took Delight in
Trade, but more in Projects of new
Discoveries up the Inland of tho?e vast
Countries. Intending to settle there
and make that his Country, he pur
chased an Habitation in the Island ot
Mont -real, where has been built the
second Town of Canada, sixty Leagues
above Quebeck. . . •
"Many Discoveries had been made to
the Northward, before Monsieur de la
Sale's Time; . . . but none had ad
xane'd far towards the South or South
west, beyond Fort Frontenac. which is
on -the Lake Ontario- the nearest this
Way of the five great Lak^s. ...
"Something was known of the fa
mous River Missisipi. which it was
'supposed might fall into the South Sea.
and open a Way to it. These Con
jectures working upon Monsieur de la
Sale, who being ecalous for the Honour
of his Nation, design'd to signalize the
French Name, on Account of extraor
dinary Discoveries, beyond all that
went before him; he form'd the Design
and resolv'd to put it in Execution. He
v as certainly very fit for it. and suc
ceeded at the Expense of hi? Life; for
ro Man has done so much in that Way
as he did for the Space of twenty
Years he spent in that Employment.
He was a Man of a regular Behaviour.
*f a large Soul, well enough learned,
Cnd understanding in the Mathe
maticks, designing, bold, undaunted,
dexterous, insinuating, not to be dis
couraged at any Thing, ready at ex
tricating himself out of any Dlfflcul^
ties, no Way apprehensive of the
greatest Fatigues, wonderful steady in
adversity, and what was of extraordi
nary Use, well enough versed in sev
eral Savage Languages. M. de la Sale
having such extraordinary Taients,
whereof he had given sufficient Proofs
upon several occasions, gain'd the Es
teem of the Governors of Canada; and
Messieurs de Courcflles, Talon, and de
Frontenac successively expressed the
fame, by often employing him in Af
fairs for the Honour and Advantage
of the Colony.
Apropos of the new ar.d'remarkably
powerful novel. "Robert Cavelier," by
William Dana Orcutt. the early chron
icles about the hero of the story, the
Sieur de L* Salle. assume an added
freshness in their Quaint interest.
While a review of the present author's
tale of the great voyager is reserved
for the Sunday Call s book page, it is
Interesting to read from the earliest
edition of Joutel's "Journal of the Last
Voyage of M. de La Salle" the story
vt the discoverer's work from the pen
of a contemporary. i?ays the old hjs
torian:
Xotes for Bookworms.
Surely such a place can be found somewhere around
the bay and can be acquired at a reasonable price. Here
the health of the men is- best assured'and their training
will be but little interrupted by adverse weather. It is
true that there arc theorists who deprecate the forma
tion of such camps, because they imply a training for
war. But the day has not come when a nation can afford
to snub the defensive* arts and when the necessity for
their use appears the theorists have never' been found
read}' to step out from their protection" and stand the
risk alone. It is a practical and not a theoretical matter
and should be treated from the standpoint of military
efficiency and public economy alone.
The first public movement to promote a proper location
has been undertaken by the State Board of Trade, which
has appointed a committee to co-operate with the new
military commission and to ask the assistance of the
other commercial bodies of this city. This is a practi
cal and worthy movement- started none too soon.
It is our right to consult and assist the economical fea
ture v of the selection, which" interests all the taxpayers.
For immovable and unchangeable physical reasons
economy requires that the location be in California. It
should be made at some point where the large transpor
tation of equipment and supplies may be no monopoly,,
but be affected by water and rail competition. It is not
unreasonable to ask that it be also where the largest
number of people may enjoy whatever benefit there is in
it. As the effect of such a location is felt beneficially by
the State and reciprocally by San Francisco this city
cannot be indifferent to it. .
As the State Board vi : Trade has led off in the matter
all of our people should manifest their interest and lend
a hand in the work. Army officers are familiar with our
military posts and are entirely aware of our climatic
conditions. They know the. latter to be favorable above
any other part of the country. The difficult part of their
task is in finding a location of sufficient area for artillery
practice and cavalry drill and rightly placed so as to
economize in transportation and the purchase of sup
plies.
THE better training of our small army requires that
the Government provide the places and the, means
for instruction in artillery gunnery and small arms
marksmanship. This means practically that our land
forces, shall be trained as our sea forces are.
The importance of such training was proved in the
Spanish war. Our men behind the guns on our war ships
had been long drilled in the service and aiming of naval
artillery- The Spanish ships were in tonnage and equip
ment the equal of ours. But the poverty or .indifference
of the Spanish Government had made it consider as
wasteful the use of ammunition in practice. When our
ships engaged the Spanish fleets our shots went home,
while the Spanish gunners h^d not skill enough to hit
the islands they were defending much less the ships in
our fleets.
The land battles of Spain were in the same condi
tion. Indeed some of them had no ammunition at, all.
This furnished the only humorous incident of the brief
war. When Captain Glass sailed up to Guam and took a
crack at the fort the Spanish Governor, who had not
heard of the war, thought it was a salute and put off for
Glass's ship with his staff in full uniform to apologize for
not returning the salute because his Government fur
nished him no powder. He was carried off as a prisoner
of war without a change of shirts. . -0-i '
Our Government, Ih pursuance of its policy of making
our land troops efficient in the actual operations of war,
has provided for the location in different parts of the
country of instruction camps of such ample area as to
accommodate cavalry and infantry drill, furnish space
for artillery practice on a large scale and for training in
rifle shooting. One of these camps is to be located on
this coast and for climatic and other reasons the War De
partment prefers that it be in California. A commission
appointed for the purpose reported two or three sites
in San Luis Obispo County and adjacent territory. ' The
representatives of these rival properties of course antag
onized each other, with the result of holding the selection
in abeyance, and another commission has been appointed
to re-examine the whole subject and make report.
As it is evident that in the Philippines we have on hand
the same kind of a job, with more difficulties, as the sub
jection of "our warlike Indian tribes, there will be upon
us for a long time the necessity of forwarding to and
returning from the islands-a considerable military force
of trained men. The quality of the climate will not per
mit the same force to remain there more' than two years,
so that the change. of men must be going on all the time.
A camp of instruction here will have to be occupied con
tinually by a force of from five to seven thousand men,
and their commissary 2nd maintenance are matters of
importance in which transportation and supplies must be
considered. .
• There was a gasp and wild* sob as
the "woman sank to the floor. They
took her in charge at the hospital.
That night the Morgue claimed the
worn out body. The doctors said she
died of starvation, but, then, doctors do
not know everything.
"Ho is in the State penitentiary."
Over the record the booking clerk ran.
Quickly he came to* the object of search.
"I came .all the way from Kansas to
find .my son. It took all the money I
had to trace him. He is the only one
left of my five children and I must
see him," urged the anxious woman.
¦ "Well, madam, he. Isn't, here now.
The record shows that he left here a
week ago," said, the officer.
"But where is he?" begged the half
distracted mother.
"His name?" queried the desk man.
"Must I tell it?" she ' pleaded, and
then In whispered response she gave
the" name.
"They told me I should find my boy
here," explained the little woman nerv
ously as she stood at the City Prison
keeper's desk. The mother was wan
and pale. Marks of care and worry
had left their impress plainly cm the
tired features. »' . V
A False Diagnosis.
THE INSTRUCTION CAMP.
Mr. Howells, whose new serial, "The
Son of Royal Langbrith," is now ap
pearing in the Xorth American Re
view, has gone abroad and can only be
reached through the London office of
Harper & Brothers, in Albemarle
street. A member of Mr. Howells' fam
ily who has remained in New York has
been kept busy forwarding his im
portant mail or returning the less
pressing communications with the fol
lowing printed slip: ''Mr. Howells is in
Europe, and during his absence it is
impracticable to reply to your inclosed
communication." His mail includes
poems from aspiring young girls, long
MSS. from people under the mistaken
impression that he is an editor of Har
per's Magazine and who expect one of
the busiest of authors to devote hours
to their critical perusal, and of requests
for assistance of all sorter When Mr.
Howells is home in addition to his reg
ular work he gets through this mail
somehow, but nobody knows how. " y :.\
It would seem as if G. Bernard Shaw
had at last come into his own. For over
a year there has been almost continu
ous reference to this clever vrlter In
the English papers, and for six months
past he has occupied no little space in
American journals. Some of this au
thor's earliest work, he informs the
public, is entirely out of print and will
never be republlshed. There are a few
of his admirers who have had the cour
age of their convictions, and two of his
choicest early books have been care
fully reprinted in'this country. One of
these, "An . Unsocial Socialist," !s the
only edition at present on the market.
A Xew York house (Brentano's) issued
this volume and "Cashel Byron's Pro
fession" at a time when his following in
America was exceedingly limited, and
their belief in the value of Mr. SHaws
work seems to be warranted. There is
at present general interest in anything
he does, for which this reprinting of
his earlier books is to a great extent
responsible.
•; - • •
Much interest has been aroused
among the readers of Miss Ellen Glas
gow's novel "The Deliverance" as to
the real locality of the story. The au
thor says that the scenes are all laid in
Caroline County, Virginia, which is
near the edge of the dark tobacco grow
ing district. The home of the Blakes
was near the little town- of Baity. The
old mansion from which the Blake
house was drawn still stands, a monu
ment to an aristocratic regime. Ac
cording to the April Bookman "The De
liverance" is easily the best-selling
book in the United States. It is the
book most in demand, too, in the twen
ty largest cities.
Ezra S. Brudno, author of "The Fugi
tive," the new book on Russian op
pressfon of the Jews, which is "having a
wide sale, comes of a distinguished
family. Though very small, it includes
a number of men wtll known for their
success in scholarly ways, and also
some of the richest Jews in Russia,
There are perhaps In all not more than
a dozen households, with the author,
his parents and three brothers the only
representatives in this country. Mr.
Brudno's great-grandfather was a
famous rabbi and author, whose father
emigrated to Lithuania, in Russia,
from Holland, and the ancestry before
this time is traced to Spain. The writ
ing of "The Fugitive" was begun while
Mr. Brudno was a . student at Yale,
which was not so long ago. In the last
year or eo it has been entirely rewrit
ten. The book came from the press
of Doubleday. Page & Co. just at the
nioment when the outbreaking of the
Eastern war made It plain that the
matters with which the book deals
would complicate the great struggle.
most the first English writer to show
appreciation of It was Lucas Malet,
the Kift-d author of "Sir Richard Cal
mady," who, as lonp ago as last De
cember. Included it in a list of "best
holiday bpoHs" prepared by her for a
London periodical. And now it has
attracted the attention of W. Robert^
son Xieoll. the discoverer of Maclaren,
JJarrie and one or two other authors
of lesser note. Mr. Nicoll has been
greatly diverted by Mr. Ford's picture
of Xew York Journalism, and partic
ularly with the chapter describing the
manner in which a fashionable wed
ding is reported in a yellow newspa
per. He, too, Is inclined to take the
book seriously, and declares in the
widely read British Weekly that it
"ought to have a wide circulation in
England." ' ; ¦
pels us to impose our civilization upon peoples who
have a civilization of their own. We should rather feel
inclined to see if they have -not something which we
may profitably adopt, 1 leaving them free to choose for
themselves suchpart%of ours as may fit them.
All Christendom is as much interested in the personal
safety of the Pope as are his own churchmen, for his
assassination would at once rekindle prejudices long
gone to ashes. But those who would be affected by such
an event realize their powerlessness to prevent such an
appalling calamity. The consciences of those who would
cause it are quite beyond their reach. It is a species of
atavism that constantly recuns under all forms of gov
ernment''and in spite of the teachings of Christianity.
No schools, no'ethics, no moral or religious teaching has
succeeded in eradicating "it. It is a persistent disease in
civilization, chronic and incurable.
Some dreamers refer it to poverty and ¦ ascribe that
poverty to the selfishness of those who are not poor.
But this view is not justified, for the preachers of an
archy a re, far from membership in the dependent class in
any of the countries where that cult finds a lurking place.
Nor can it be ascribed to partiality and oppression in
civic institutions, for the evil.spirit is here, where men
are the freest and the most prosperous" in the enjoyment
of more 'equality of opportunity. All that can be done is
to recognize it as a, peculiarly sinister and covert and
merciless form of the criminal s instinct and when we find
it to stamp it out as we do physical contagion.
TH E SAN FfiA N C I SG O C A I_^
JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor V ; . , . v.'. . : Addresv AH Communications to JOHN McNAUGHT. Manager
Publication onicc 1 <^paj^j> Third and Market Streets, S. P.
THURSDAY......./ "... ....• ...........A. ........:. . .APRIL 14. 1904
THE SAN: FRANG1SGO CAbi;,: 'I-llURS^AY, APRIL; 14, 1004:
Special (Information- supplied dally to
business houses : and public men by the
Press Clipping: Bureau (Allen's). ; 230 Cal
ifornia street. Telephone Mala 1041, •
The Isle of Man Is a place to be
'Boor Man Beware ofiMati:
;The appearance of another ¦¦'mysterious murder" * in
Massachusetts,- that of Miss Mabel Page, is but another
proof that mysterious murders ; have' now become so com
mon in New England- that in that section a murder; which
is not mysterious would tfe the "greatest, mystery of alL
,Townsend"g California Glace fruits and
choice candles, .in : artistic fire-etched
boxes. "A nice present for Eastern friends.
715 Market street, above Call building. •
The : number of JRussian warships-that havc ; been blown
up by Russian mines is becoming ominous. If the -Japs
continue' to tease them. to cortie-out of the harbor.and
fight, they may succeed at last? ip- getting all the Rus
sian mines exploded and all thenr ships blown up vwith
luvioss.to Japan at all. : A i t--t. .
\ i'A strictly, up-to-date burglar captured at Mountain View
had an improved kit of tools of his own invention, the
use, of which he explained to the Sheriff, with much
pride. It is to be hoped the State jailer will' be: quite as
modish in the style of. his padlocks, so that his profes
sional vanity may not be put to the blush by his prbm r
ised.guestl , : - ; ¦•¦ .
8
MEN AND MATTERS IN
THE FORE AS THE WORLD
MOVES
TALK OF THE TOWN
AND TOPICS OF THE
TIMES