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MONDAY The San Francisco Call JOHN D. SPRECKELS Proprietor CHARLES W. HORNICK .Oeneral Manager ERNEST S. SIMPSON Managing Editor Adflrf* All C«mmwnlc«Uon» <o THE SAX fHAXCISCO CALE Telephone, "Trmponrr «T- A«lt for The Call. The Operator Will Coaaect Yon With the Department Yon \VI«b. BUSINESS OFFICE Market and Third Streets, San Francisco Open Until 11 O'clock Every Night In the Year. EDITORIAL ROOMS .Market and Third Streets MAIN CITY BRANCH 777777. . .1651 FHlmore Street, Near Post OAKLAND OFFICE— 101« Broadway Telephone Oakland 10S3 ALAMEDA OFFICE— I43S Park Street Telephone Alameda EB» BERKELEY OFFICE — SW. Cor. Center and Oxford.. Telephone Berkeley 77 CHICAGO OFFICE— Marquette 81dg...C. George Kroyness, Representative NEW YORK OFFICE— 3O Tribune Bid*. . .Stephen B. Smith, Representative WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT Ira E - Bennett SUBSCRIPTION RATE* :.i Delivered by Carrier. 20 Cent. Per Week. 75 Cents Per Month. Single Copies 5 Cents. Terms by Mail. Including Postage (Cash With Order): DAILY CALL (including Sunday), 1 year **•<><> DAILY CALL (including Sunday), 6 months * 4^ o DAILY CALL— By single month 4 ™ SUNDAY CALL, 1 year *'j>jj WEEKLY CALL. 1 year • • 10Q , Da ny $8.00 Per Year Extra FOREIGN \ Sunday ".'.'.".'.'..'.' «•« p p r Year Extra POSTAGE. ) Weekly. I- 00 p * r V** 1 " Extra Entered at the United States Postofflce as Second Class Matter. ALL POSTMASTERS ARE AUTHORIZED TO RECEIVE SUBSCRIPTIONS. Sample Copies Will Be Forwarded When Requested. Mail subscribe** in ordering change of address should be particular to give both >£EW AND OLD ADDRESS in order to insure a prompt and correct compliance with their request. ; — / HARRIMAN VS. HARRIMAK THERE is gloom on the face of the moon. Uncle Jim Hill foresees disaster. Mr. Harriman sulks and complains he is not getting fair play with a square deal. The president of the Lackawanna. after declaring a twenty per cent dividend, launches a woeful jeremiad. All the railroad prophets are work ing overtime. The earnings of the roads increase month by month. They have more business than they can handle. Every important sys tem in the country is paying large dividends, but the prophets are agreed that something dreadful is going to happen if the Govern ment persists in prying into their affairs and having a i-oice in the management. Why should the Government meddle with the course of our business? the magnates inquire with obvious sense of injury. The answer is easy enough, and it is found in the portentous growth of monopoly, the acquisition of coal and timber "lands by fraud and the stock jobbing game of which Mr. Harriman is the highest exponent. Mr. Harriman is free to say that he regards monopoly as a good thing in itself. It must be said for him that with cer tain limitations he is a candid witness. His remarkable testimony before the Interstate Commerce Commission made no secret of his theories on this subject. We quote from the testimony: Mr. Harriman — Suppose we had a line from New York to San Fran cisco. I suppose that is what you mean. Would it not be a good thing — not that we have any idea of doing it, but would it not be a good thing? Commissioner Lane— Supposing you got the Santa Fe? Mr. Harriman — You would not let us get it /._ : Commissioner Lane — How could we help it? =,' S Mr. Harriman— How could you help. it? I think you would bring out your power to enforce the conditions of the Sherman antitrust act pretty quick. If you will let us, I will go and take the Santa Fe tomorrow. Commissioner Lane — You would take it tomorrow? Mr. Harriman— Why, certainly, I would. I would not have any hesita tion. It is a pretty good property. \ , l"«>;--vi Commissioner Lane — Then it is only the restriction of the law that; keeps you from taking it? -{"\u25a0' '\u25a0; ; . Mr Harriman— l would go on as long as I lived. ;' \u25a0 i Commissioner Lane— Then after.you had got the Santa Fe and had taken it you would also take the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern if you could get them? Mr. Harriman — If you would let me. Mr. Harriman's theory 15 that monopoly is * the natural and inevitable development of the law that forbids pooling among the railroads. If the railroads were permitted to agree on rates there would,, in his view, be no business necessity impelling the pur chase of competing roads. There is something to be said for that view and a great deal to be said against it. For one thing, pooling is' only another form of monopoly.. It eliminates competition and puts a premium on inferior service. Further, it encourages the building of unnecessary roads that must be carried by the pool, the burden in the last resort being shifted to the shippers.- 1 It tas all the disadvantages of monopoly without its economy of ad ministration. Mr. Harriman complained to the commission that there is no other country in the world where "business interests are so much antagonized by the Government as this one," but the burden of this complaint is minimized by his honest admission that "the railroads themselves are more to blame, than any one factor for the antagonisms Between the people and the legislatures and the railroads." Mr. Harriman makes a, pretty good witness against himself. RESPECTABLE GAMBLERS TO what extent is gambling legitimate and respectable? The question is prompted by the fact that Harry Thaw's life has been insured by Lloyds, the famous insurance agency of London. The insurance is, of course, a bet that the jury will not convict Thaw of murder in the first, degree." At the time that King' Edward was so dangerously ill just before his coronation, London merchants who had made heavy investments in expectation of big business during the festivities, hastened to insure the King's life at Lloyds. That was not life-insurance of the customary kind, but merely fa bet on the event. ...... Lloyds is headquarters for the marine reinsurance gamble on, overdue ships, but the same class of business is done in every im portant seaport. It has noiie of the characteristics of legitimate! insurance and is simply the" giving and taking of heavy odds on an event not amenable to the law of averages, on which legitimate insurance is based. There are some who insist that ajl forms of insurance except on life is gambling. They . declare, that there is no ascertainable law of averages that governs the occurrence of fires, the breaking of plate glass windows or the supply of sprained ankles and broken legs. Life insurance, on the other hand, is an exact science based on the tables of "mortality that show the average- expectation of life at any given age. When; we say it is an 'exact science it is on the assumption that -the mortality tables arc true. The tables that have been in use 'are -said to require revision owing to the fact that improved sanitary conditions have materially added to' the expectation of life. The}' arc good losers at Lloyds and they never welch, but at best they are nothing more than highly respectable ramblers. AN EXAMPLE OF FREAK LEGISLATION S*\ ROVE JOHNSON'S spur track bill or professing l| to enlarge, the powers of the State Railroad Commission, is \j a very curious example of freak legislation. The -.bill con fers other powers on the comrriission, but the provision relating to spur tracks is. the most important feature. We quote : Section 3. Whenever application shall be made to'said board by any EDITORIAL PAGE person, firm, or corporation, for the construction of a spur track, not more than 500 feet in length, from any existing railroad to any industrial establish: mwit existing, or contemplated, said board may cite the owner or operator, of such railroad to appear before it on a day certain, and. shall then.and there hear evidence for. and against such application. .If the- board shall deter mine from the evidence'that the construction of-such spur.;track is reasonably practicable and safe, and. % that the same will furnish business sufficient/to justify the construction and maintenance of the same, it^may order the same to be constructed by .such owner.: or "operator of such railroad, and in case of a refusal to comply with such order the [finding of -''jsaid board shall :.iri any legal proceedings brought to enforce the same be prinia facie, evidence of necessity for such spur track. '\u25a0.'-.-.-• .. .-;^* The grant of spur track* franchises is a purely municipal' func tion, with which neither the Legislature; nor the .Railroad Com mission has the power to interfere.^ Such interference in "municipal affairs" is expressly forbidden by the State .constitution. An order of the Railroad Commit ion under this section affejt^ting trackage within the limits of towns or cities would be a command to per form an illegal act. The commission cannot -be. endowed.-; with power to order a railroad to steal a street. The rest of'the bill is just about as foolish as the section we have quoted. _ I * - Work of Woman's Clubs in the State Federation T HE newly elected executive, Doara of the/ State Federation held a meeting on Saturday, February 23. at which much business was , transacted and several new •committees were appolnFed,: Mrsi E. D. Buss, the. State president, being in the "chair.. The executive -i committee; and the printing committee' both consist of j Mrs. Buss and her two secretaries.. Mrs. J. Benson Wrenn of Bakersfield and j Mrs. % Edna - Kaar of Kern, City." who, will be kept busily at work for some. time. Three new committees were 'added, that;. of philanthropy, with Mrs. B. N. de: Leon of Berkeley a*B chairman, --. clubhouse loan i. fund/ Mrs. Kate: A.V, Bulkeley, chairman; jllterature, Mrs.' /James a: Hughes'of Fresno,, leader. - * - \u25a0 ,•"..•'•"*,' s At a recent meeting of : the Bakern fleld Woman's r. Club r the following , of- Qcers were elected:; President, Mrs.. : .W. r ' W. - Kaye ; vice ;• president, f Mrs. r, H. L. -"; Packard; recording G. Hull; corresponding .secrerary.-.Mrs. \ Wallace Morgan;' !: treasurer,": Mrs. A. wen.. .'-;.\u25a0-"\u25a0..-\u25a0"•.-::' - • .».\u25a0•\u25a0 \u25a0 The; most important, question'. of ythe< club world in San ; Francisco': this , week '•, will be- the discusslpn-'atrthei. meeting: of th e ' Call f orn ia Club^ tomorrow , as ito < rebuilding," the clubhouse. ("According. to"/ the v club t calendar .theTquestion; is Holbq 5 "considered "and : decided." v There is? an '.* air* of finality* Iri; the ' statement^ which,— for those who, know this club.V argues;, that the matter will be nettled then and there." I The handsome v clubhouse in 1 Clay.^ street was destroyed in April last and : Getting His Bearings Mary Ashe Mi ller me insurance money 1 inereon ; weni - toVard the liquidation of the debt ; that remained. After careful, consideration of the matter, of the;' club' was; advised by Its \u25a0 architect: riot , to at- : tempt it during the: fall. or winter, 'but .to. wait- until -later. - . ; . •' The reports of theannualcoriventlon : at Bakersfleld will also bo heard tomor-7 row, and .Mrs:"Aylett^:R. i^CottonW; will make an address oh "My, Oriental Trip." '\u25a0 Mrs. , Cotton returned k recently V from a stay of some months i in the Philippines^ and :; the tale ' of i- her i experiences .-there , will be =. moat \ lnteresting. • ;- s, ; : On Tuesday,:March'l9/,the programme will : be in charge f of « the ; department ? of \u25a0 civics,^ of ;whichj Mrs. fAaronlSchioss; is ' the : chairman,', and --' the * subject will |be "City; < Problems-rrSchoolsVc and^s Play^i grounds,- Streets' arid: Transportation and s.i ßestoration - of ;.* Business."/ The \u25a0; speakers are'to be announced: later. *V \u25a0\u0084 \u25a0\u25a0'\u0084 \u25a0- - • . • * '\u25a0'\u25a0• '\u25a0 ''•-- *• '**'"-\u25a0\u25a0 The \u25a0 Contemporary , Club, v of - /which ' Mrs.. F., M.&Malloye is y president,, was , largely l attended? on i Monday \u25a0Jast,"'/and* members and guests^ wore delightfully..' entertained: .An J interesting;! and j com : ! ; pletc ! report from, the State ; .wasVjjivcn". by the-club's i'delegate^Mrs.y R. * M. L^ Bryant.' ? .The. speak.er^Tof ,f the.; day,:. Miss -Lucille^ Eaves."- who t.isir an V authority f on i settlement ;work,'. ; gave l- an instructive talk;" on "Civics.'/ A" civics:; section v Is . to } \ be s formed >in the",. r club \< to aid in - this 5 good work, c ;' .;' ' VMuslcalb numbers \were ; rendered, by Miss \u25a0 Ella" Blake.'l.who kindly . responded .'\u25a0. to", several: encores.. , -... The Corona' * Club \u25a0 meeting, ;: whichT; was held" on -last, "* was: the; largest in attendance since the^meet-- Personal Mention Charles Colby of Seattle is at the Palace.' • \u25a0 .'- - - ; - h , i J. P. Copa of Salt Lake City is at the .Imperial.' ; James -Whittaker. of Gait is at the Baltimore. '\u25a0"\u25a0'.''\u25a0 vDr. 0..8. Spauldlng of Treka is at the -Savoy. / •". . . • J. C. 1 Paul, a manufacturer from Oma ha,, is at the, Savoy. \u25a0\u25a0^WllMam .Crosby.-: a- merchant -of Se attle,; is 'at the Imperial. : _ 'Judge -C."i H. of Manila and his. daughter/are, at the Jefferson. I I-ewls •• xßead iof New ; York, who is touring the ; coast, is ; at the, Hamlln. ;'*Los; Angeles arrivals at the Hotel Baltimore are J. H. Pape and S. A. Simons." ,' '".. ... i \u25a0 Mrs. W. Evens, 1 well • known in the social circle^of Los Angeles, is at the Hamlin. Homer Wilson and. E. H. Wedekind, who have large interests In Goldfleld, are at • the St. : Francis. ings were resumed last fall. It proved also to be one of the [ most : enjoyable, tbe'recital by; Miss Agnes Marie Noon an ,; being:, greatly appreciated. : The first; character, sketch, *that v of -a i very old woman 'Visiting a sick friend,' "Jane Hopkins' Visit.';-: caused the greatest amount' of -merriment, 'as -. did /also ; the Irish /dialect; bit, "Mrs."' Casey's .Card Party."- = Two . 'musical - numbers, "My Dearest . --\u25a0-,; Heart/.' :; bby-"\u25a0y y - '"\u25a0 Sullivan, - and by, Edwin 'Greene,, were pleasingly 1 sung i by .": Miss ; Sayre. . -The next 1 meeting Jof 1 the club ' will ' be ; on March .1 4 - and will*' consist of a ", lecture by; Frederick VJ.-Taggart,; librarian of the "Mechanics'- Instltute.li&BSSgMMl ';:\u25a0< An i especially: interesting meeting of r the 1 Laurel ,; Hall : Club ', was ; held' "on FebruaryJ2o» only imombers: taking part. I in^the* excellent 'programme, \ •which^-cir cumstance .. made "* the k affair,', of ;i double ; interestrf -,The i sketches f of the- leading characters ?;:inVUhev; books—^."Coniston," : 43 Baltimore"/; and I ' "The.;;" Dlvino; \u0084 Fire"— were or 1 ginal ' and - gave* food , for thought r y on X- account; of '-. the -different ideas ?-, expressed r<by _:\u25a0 different ~i. Individ-, 1 uals.-: ;' Those .-.« taking rV part ' were 'Mrs. \u25a0 /Ashley j Faull, Mrs." Schiller/ Mrs. : Morris. ~ Mrs. ' Blaisdell.-^Mrs. Evans,': Mrs. : Mar- - * tinon.vMrß.V Freeman^'; Mrs: --Allen t and' •Mrs.vsMcKoskey.'l'i'lTnreJtr-- sorig^; ''Ah, ',\u25a0> Love 4 but; a> Day" j(Mrs.>H. ;H.) -Beach), " " "Obstination" '\u25a0'\u25a0'. (DeiriFontenaillea) and l "Im '•:; Herbst'V (Robert ;; \ Franz); 'i, were - charmingly." rendered by ' Miss \u25a0 Eleanore ! ; Joseph. lIBBI^S9BSSp9RS9PBBB The next -meeting of itheY club, will be \u25a0on Wednesday, . beginning at ; 1. p. ; m. ; ;Withsan^informal ? luncheon. f'i There ; are ' to be; no? guests save; theinembers, 'and ; those 'f-deslrlhg^td^ attend^, should;; send ai notification* to ' the'correspondlng ; sec- } re tary. There ', will ; be a^ short ; sketch, The Insider \u25a0 -- . \u25a0 ; * Declares banshee does exist, says ambitious young men are making money at wrecking and tells what women think of Jove nM _ „;.„ \u0084- - c* -INCE Admiral Lord Charles Beresford Who Will Deny the V^ has teen summo ned to Mexico by the Banshee's Existence? W call of the family banshee to claim an estate said 'to be falsely claimed by a negress alleging herself his late brother's widow,, many local writers have unburdened themselves of their ideas on the banshee subject. One of the weeklies asks" whether, the banshee is a joke or whether Lord Beresford wishes people to think he in it. - Now there is nothing of a joke about a banshee. -Lever gives several instances of its warnings in his novels, which are stilt considered perfect pictures of Irish life at: the- period when written. The belief in the banshee or bansigh is by nomeans unusual, I have been told by San Franciscans who do not feel ashamed dfJ their Irish descent, but rather glorj, in it. . I should like to gefSeumas MacManus to tell what he knows of the banshee, and I'd like to hear some one deny its existence when robust Denis O'Sullivan is about. The banshee is a beneficent ghost, never malev olent, and is\ always a' woman connected with the founder of the house wife or mother, but usually wife— and she always appears at the ancestral home to the existing <head of the family. Only people of consequence— "quality"— have a banshee at all. No climbers may apply for one. The new-rich may buy a crest and a tree; they cannot buy a banshee. It doesn t matter at all how far a family may have fallen financially or socially; in their low estate they, may be sure their banshee is just as faithful as ever it wa« in their grand days. The late Dan O'Connell of course had one, since the O'Connor-O'Conr.ell banshee is a good deal more than a legend' in Irish history. All ghosts of old Irish families are known from one end of thr Emerald Isle to the other, so no exception must be made to the Beresford wraith for letting its wail become public. But Lord Charles' banshee, which is proving such a source of worry to my contemporaries, could not have told him to come to America to bring suit for his brother's estate. Banshees aren't exactly that kind , of clair voyants. But it could warn him of the death of his brother, or rather the intimation of trouble that turned out to-be death! i \u0084 . \u25a0 .\u25a0\u25a0-.,. . . _____ 11/ t-; f D * Wfecking of buildings is all -the go as an , WreCKing Ot HUltlS occupa tion among our young society men | Is Young Men S Fad atld ha 3 f or the nonce driven salooning inttv the background.- Even trips to Tonopah and Goldfield are being postpocp-A in favor of taking contracts for pulling down ruins, piling bricks and carting off old iron. There is a lot of money in wrecking buildings, if one has & small capital and unlimited pluck. Young men who were satisfied to be ban^ or insurance clerks before the eighteenth of last April are now going inte*^ this wrecking business with the ambition to do something to write their , names on the map of new San Francisco or die in the attempt. The majority of them are harvesting shekels out of their efforts to rehabilitate the city. — ¥T7« j c ' ' " "You think that, woman is looking out the Car Window Serves window? » So ran the question of a crusty as Woman's Mirror old f e n ow in the McAllister-street car the other day. He indicated a. pretty woman in a fetching early-spring hat. "Don't you fool yourself. She's looking at herself. Did you ever try to look out of a corner window in a car when a man with dark clothes on .happened to be obscuring the view at that particular point? Well, just watch that woman now— she'll show you. See her smile? Think she recog nizes-*a friend outside? No — she's idoking at her white teeth as her red lips part. The conjunction of the pane of glass and the man in a dark coat standing against it oh the other side makes the best kind of a mirror. I wager that little woman doesn't find this trip down town dull. She's found, something to look at that. interests her." r f V-'. j. TT , , What do 'clubwomen talk about nowaday^ Love of Women Is Cuhure doesn , t seem tobe the prevail^y Discussed by Women topic, as it was before the quake. Clothe^ are more popular than ever, however, and the woman « who knows a little bit about' gown-designing is the favorite in clubdom- just now. But deeper ' j subjects occasionally take the floor, especially now 'tis Lent. The other 'day orie of the sections of a big woman's club began to debate — not in class, but in a group — on the Byronic sentiment, "In her first passion woman loves her lover, in all the others all she loves is love." It was only the minority that sided with the poet. The majority reversed the statements, giving love the preference for first passion over the lover. "What does an 18-year-old bud know about men?" said one of the debaters. "She simply falls in love with the first chap who knows how to tell her she i# charming in the language of Cupid's "court. When she has had a few more men make love'to her on the same "old lines she begins really to appreciate what a live lover may be — somebody who can bring novelty in his methods. Oh, , no, it isn't the lover she loves— not when she's a young girl; it's Love with' a. capital. When she gets older and experienced," with a half-sigh, "she is more than likely to fall head over heels in love with a man." / "And more than likely with one who doesn't care a rap for her," adde^j a cynical married woman. f d^.,,. nf Ma/fpr • The Epigram, the late lamented Fred SomerA* ™!fj.*~- attcw^ to «!^"«-i P a P* r »« intellect »nVS. % Failed to Save Chic witj was not the only Tenture of that s<?r r that failed here. There must.be a few of us left who remember the weekly that was founded by Bob Davis, Alice Rix and Frank Nankivell, in wnicn the news of the day in clubdom, society and the stage world was served up in language and illustrations of rare quality. Chic that little weekly was called, and until the fire I had nearly an entire file" of it. One of its': best things was a double-page reproduction of a wonderful Lorelei by" Nankivell. Miss Marian Bunner did the music criticisms in Chic,' and Alice Rix dished up the drama. Davis wrote causerie and an, occasional short story. But the brilliant product of these clever minds did not make money for its projectors. Chic died, as did the weekly founded by Harry MacDowell, The San Franciscan. "Christening of the Cupboard," by Mrs. Ella M. Sexfen and Mm. Thomas Col lins, which promises, to be of much interest .At 2:30 o'clock there will; be .a, business meeting, followed by a pro gramme as follows at 3 p. m.: Original sketches, "Van' Ness, Past and Present," Mrs. A.VC, Freeman; a storiette, Mrs. J. G. "Walker; A character, sketch. Mrs. W. 8.."-Morri3; "Mission Dolores," Mrs. L. H. . McKoskey, • and "The 1 Star," Dr. Sallle J. Davis. On Wednesday, . March -20, ; there : will be a discussion on "The Utopian Conditions of the Government In .New Zealand." by Mrs.' Cobb, Mrs. Mouser, Mrs. "Frost, Mrs. Priber, Mrs. Merritt, Mrs. Farnham. Mrs. Martinon and Mrs. Lawson. Mrs. Ashley Faull willsins. \u25a0 ' . To-Kalon's attraction for 1 tomorrow will be. a. literary rand musical pro gramme, which -has been 'arranged by Mrs. Newton J. Tharp, .who will her self recite. "There are some excellent numbers i in, prospect, to .be enjoyed by the ; members -of this club. \u25a0r ,The Association of Pioneer Women of the State * held a meeting oh Friday la«t." : one of the most important affairs of jthe day being the discussion of the setting apart of onoiday each year as a-vmemorial day, for.^the association. This -was" finally decided; upon and th^ first"; Friday^; in May chosen. I It will hereafter * be . observed and : suitable . ex ercises ;will be provided J. by; the fenter tainment committee. , The meeting took place ' in", the' parlors of Calvary Presby terian \Chureh" and was unusually well attended. 4 Daughters of California Pioneers have .omitted '.their> social;; day. this month and will hold only a business -MARCH 4, 1907 meeting today, and. a directors* meeting on March 25, both of which will tak« place at the home of the president, Mrs. -Ernest Leigh, 1133 Hayes street. • \u25a0 • ' ••:..'\u25a0 The Mill Vall«y Outdoor Art Club held its second monthly meeting on Thursday afternoon at its cosy club house. A large "number of -members and their guests assembled to do honor to FeJeration day and extended gre-nt" ings, to several, distinguished club women, among whom were Mrs; Robert Potter Hill, past president of the Stata Federation of Women's Clubs: Mrs. E. C Hurff. president of . the San Frani Cisco district, and Mrs. E. : LL Baldwin, chairman of civics of the O. F. W. C The. president. Mrs.H. S. Bridge, wai the first delegate who attended the re cent convention at Bakersflelrt to make report. The otoers from the Outdoor Art Club /were Mrs. Frances Lash. Mr*. W. W. Davis. Mis 3 Florence Ret. Mrs. F.F. Bostwick. Mrs. E. C. Hurff. spoke on the value of federation In club life. Mrs. E. L. Baldwin on /"The School Children League.", and Mrs. Robert Poi ter/HIU charmed all by. her magnetic personality in^ a resume of her post work' and In many helpful hints for the advancement of the home club. \u25a0 The chairman of the day was Mrs. H. C. - Hasike. Music and: refreshments closed the afternoon's proaframme. Mr 3. Hill [promised the club another visit lit the near future. The guests were entertained at lunch eon by Mrs. Bridge and Mrs. Carl Run yon at Tamalpals Tavern. , Women* . club* throughout ,- the State j are Invited 'to " communK-nte news o 4 their orjraaliatlou to.tkis drpvrtmt'kt ot The Call. '" ' !