The morning call., 1890-09-14
THE CALLS
QUERY COLUMN.
How Uncle Sans Vessels Will Be
Named and Rated.
Tides at the Isthmus-Grand Army Parade.
National Theater Burning-Big Tree
Bill-Palo Alto Estate

THE CALL's Query Column is conducted with
eral interest.
Catch questions win not receive any attention.
NO opinion VIII be given In thus column regard
firms in this city or elsewhere.
Questions answers TO which are In the nature
Oh an advertisement, will not be answered
Every inquiry must have the true and full
name OF the sender, as well as the correct resi-
denee. Any inquiry that has not the cor
rect name and addr of the sender will
be treated as il il was not signed, and the
writer need not expect an answer.
ESEAAvAL NoNIEYcLATURE-M. o., City.
TSNAlS Looking over the United States Navy
AYXl5 Register one is puzzled TO under
stand upon what rule vessels are rated or
named, neither might nor power nor speed
seeming to determine the rank of vessel.
The only explanation that can be afforded 10
that under existing statutes ironclads wers
rated according to their tonnage meas
urement and other vessels according TO their
tonnage displacement, which, OF course, Is
much greater The Senate bill introduced
not long ago abolished the distinction be-
tween ironcads and other vessels, rating all
according to tonnage displacement. Under
this plan the first raters will be 5000 tons
and over, the second between 5000 and 5000,
the third between 1G00 and 5000, and the
fourth under 1000. While the Senate passed
the bill making this change, it failed to har-
monte the system of naming the vessels
under this new rule of rating. 1t named
battle-ships after States, cruisers after Cities
unarmored coast-defense vessels after rivers
and lakes and armortd coast-defense vessels
after historical events, without regard to
tonnage displacement The House Naval
Committee amended the bill so as to name
first raters after States, second after cities,
third after events and names in naval history,
and fourth rates after lakes and rivers. And
thus the tonnage displacement will deter
mine veSsei's class, and the name will
slow to which such class she belongs.
"BIG-TREE BILL"-R. A. G., City. The
Q. C. does not possess nor has it seen the
text of the "Big-tree Bill" as you call it.
Speaking, however, in general terms, Con-
gresham Wanderers bill has for its pur-
pose the creation of a national park, to be
known as Sequoia Park. The land to be in
closed in the park will cover $4,000 acres. 1t
embraces nearly the whole of the tract which
is well known to the people of Tulare as the
region of the big trees, is situated some
forty-fve miles northeast of Nisalia, at an
elevation of from 5000 to 1000 feet, and
spreads itself, almost without break, from
Kings River TO Kaweah River The pur-
pose of this act, which passed Congress
unanimously, is to reserve this tract as
national pleasure ground forever. Shep-
herds and lumbermen will be rigidy eX-
eluded, and severe penalties will be decreed
| against persons who mutilate the trees and
build fires in the park.
TIDES AT THE IsTHMUs-H. D., Alameda,
| Cal. 1t is true that on the west side OF the
Isthmus of Panama the tides Of the Pacific
| rise n great deal higher than do those of the
| Atlantic Ocean on the east side, and this
fact is one of the difficulties in the way of
| the Panama canal scheme. AT certain states
| of the tides the levels of the oceans differ
! materially, so that while at Colon the dit
| ference between high and low water Is not
| more than 90 inches, at Panama 1t IS gener
| ally IS feet and at times even upward OF
| 1919 feet. The current thus produced in the
| canal would be sufficient to stop navigation
for number of IL ais at each tide, to obyiate
| which difficulty was one of the most diff
| cult problems in engineering in connection
with the work of the canals construction.
NATIONAL THEATER-C. r. T., City.
LauSe National TheateT, which was at the
| forner of Leonard and Church streets, New
York, was destroyed by fire ON the 23d of
September. 1899, and the loss, according to
an old list of destructive fires. was $780,
600 This theater, Lester Wallack. in his
recollcctions published in Scribner's Maya
zine in 1888, said "had been built an opera
house for Palmo, but failed in that capacity,
and when my father took it he gave will
iam) Mitchell direction of the stage. In the
very zenith of the theater's success it was
burned and the cont any, Of Curse, was
| thrown out of employment" There was
another fire in the New National Thea:er of
New York on May %, 1871, at which the loss
was 100000.
SEVEN WoNDERs-G. o. E., Elena, Cal.
| The Q. C. vouchsafes reply to your oft-asked
question only because it appreciates the diff
| ticulty of obtaining such information III a
remote locality such as that from which you
write and where there is no access to works
| of reference. The historical seven wonders
| of the world were: o. The pyramids Of
Egypt. (2) The maus0leum built for Mauso-
| lus, King of Cara. by his Queen, Artemisia.
| (3) The temple of Diana at EpheSus. 81 The
walls and hanging gardens of Babylon. %
| The vast brazen image of the sun at Rhodes,
| called the Colossus. 90 The ivory and gold
statue of Jupiter Olympus. "a The watch
tower built by Ptolemy Philadelphus, King
of Egypt
PALo ALTo-E. NJ. c., Orange, CAL The
Leland Stanford Jr. University and Palo
! Alto the site of the same, are in Santa Clara
and not in San Mateo County, though the
| Palo Alto estate, comprising some 1900 acres,
| is in the two counties named. The San
Francisquito Greek is their boundary line and
| Senator Staniord's house is in Santa Clara
| County south of the creek, and the UniVer-
| sity buildings a mile or so further SOUTH
| Where the railroad crosses the creek stand
| two tall redwood trees Formerly there were
| three), the only ones of such size anywhere
| in the valley, aud these gave the name to
| m pu6OPiS
or sticks. These are also south of the creek
and in Santa Clara County.
GRAND ARMY PARADE-W. r., City.
| o. The twentieth National Encampment, G.
A. r., held at San Francisco lasted from
Monday, August I'd, until Saturday, August
| Z 1886 FOdr more days were spent after
| that at Oakland, San Jose and Sacramento.
| ~ The great parade was on August Sd, and
| the line of march from Geary and Van Ness
| avenue, with countermarch of the &. A. X.
| on the avenue down on the west side to
Market, to Kearny, to Montgomery avenue,
| to Montgomery, to Market. to Third and
| Mission, where dismissal was had. The re-
viewing stand was at Lotta's Fountain.
| He WHO ORDERS PAW V. b., City.
1t has become quite the custom for the seller
of real estate, as part OF his agreement to
sell, to pay the attorneys bill for services
in examining the title. In the absence, how
ever, of any agreement between the seller
| and purchaser on this point, it is a common
| sense proposition tnat he who orders the ex-
! animation to be made will have to foot the
bill The attorney furnishing the services
will, as a matter Of course, look for remun-
Grafton to him who engaged him.
ARRIVAL OF THE NORTH CABoLINA--H.
| f. r., Millville, Cal. An obliging correspond
ent of the @. c., states that he has records of
deep-water sailing vessels arriving and leay-
ing this port from March 80, 1850, which he
thinks as far back as it is possible TO speak
with certainty now, as the CONTRIBUTIONS de-
stro yed every thing prior. If indie ed there was
any record kept He affirms that the ship
North Carolina, 669 tons. of New York,
Drumm ond master, did arrive in San Fran
cisco from Bath, Me-, $50 days, on June
| IA, 1850