The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-14

D6l Uhlu ldS Il lhdotCl ny tllO bIANdt oiiu WIN
back the right 70 I'll responsible Offices with
men not pledged TO his service measure OF
relief will be experienced.
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The silver men are on the alert to take all
tie advantage they can from the conference
on the silver question. to which Great Bril-
tain is already conserving party. They
are clamOripg to have delegates appointed
who are known to be friendly to silver. aud
who are at all events not classed as mono
metalllsts of the 'goldbug' order The SIM
cere friend of bimetallism would, il is the
cherished belief. 60 to the conference with
the earnest determination to give silver
better opportunity in settling the balances
% commercial transactions. But If sup
pOrters OF free coinage, or something equiv
alent are appointed, our delegates Will be
discounted as men whose minds are already
made up. They would 20 from the United
States with little better status than lawyers
who have accepted fees and are bound to
speak to their brief. Ardent 'gOldbugS"
are not desirable because they have CON-
mItted themselves TO a policy, but neither
are ardent silver men suitable for the posi-
ton. The delegates who would make the
best representatives OF the country are men
Of strong cOmmOn-sense, practically ac
quanted with business aud having at least
relation TO home circulation and foreign eX-
change. As lar as possible the men should
be without prejudice, and should go TO the
conference with an open mind. President
Harrison may be trusted TO make wise
selection of men whose impaTtialty and
ability will do the country credit.
The steamer COnemaugh has arrived at
Riga from Philadelphia on her errand Of re-
lief to the starving Russian moujikS. The
demonstrations of rejoicing with which she
has been received in entering port are sguif-
cantly marked by receipt of q telegram from
Russia to the effect that the Gar has re-
moved the prohibition on the export of oats
and corn. From this il may be concluded
that there was grain sufficient in the country
TO cope with tho distress IN the famlshed
districts aad the matter for wonder is that
the Russian Government did not act with
uDheSitatng promDtitude in distributing
adequate relief from the outset. Perhaps the
bureaucracy which curses the administrd-
tive system was unequal to the strain of
dealing with q famine crisis. Another suf-
ficient sign that Russia was not put 10 the
limits Of her power Ia SuccOring the needy
lies in the frequent rumOrs that Russia is
uGeparng for war along her frontier These
sinister reports may be nothing more than
inventions, but if Russia Is bent upon war
this year she is not IN the Frustrated condi-
~
to war with any prospect Of success.
The conditions Of William Astor's viii are
announced in general terms. He divides
six millions Of dollars among his wife, two
of his daughters aud his grandchildren, and
he hands over all the remainder of his vast
estate, amounting to at least $50, 000. 600, to
his only son, John Jacob Aston Mrs. Cole
man Drayton, his third daughter, is not
mentioned in the will. This omission to
give her q dollar publicly will be construed
by a cens0ri0u5 public as IN some direct
manner connected with the scandal which
recently has agitated society. The fact that
the son should receive seYen-eighths OF this
mil.iOnaire's accumulations may attract at
Cention to the abuses which great wealth,
passed undivided from person TO person,
may peTpetuate. 1t Is an application Of the
system Of entail and prim0genitlve success
sion TO American life. France knocked on
the head this artificial mode of keeping
property within family at the Revolution.
and the result is seen in the vast Increase of
property holders. who, small as 1t IS, have
a stake in the country. The time IS ap-
preaching wi en- the landl0rdism OF England,
sustained by entail, will also be thrust aside
as preiudicia to the nations interests, and
perhaps such wills as William Aston has
made Will not always be respected in the
United States. Virtually the heir. John
Jacob IS, in respect of a considerable share
of the property. only IN the enjoyment of
life interest He IN his turn, when death
huJries him away to that small tenement Of
clay which sufliees for the rich as well as
the poor, is expected to pass the bulk Of
the property 10 the heir or heirs whom
be chooses to select This is an effeetual
way Of building up an aristOcracy OF wealth,
and yet when the process is inquired into
1t is contingent upon the growth OF pODula-
ton and not upon the acts of owners only.
AS New York grows so does the Astor prop
erty.
A submarine boat at Detroit is reported
to have been navlgated freely under water
for two hours, without discomfort to the
navigators. Its movements were quite in
visible on the surface. Other craft of this
character have been tried in various other
countries, but no one of them seems to have
proved acceptable 10 naval authorities for
service with fleets. NOrdenfeldt constructed
one that left only little speck of its bulk
uDsubmerged, and that dived about rapidly
and freely, but somehow lt bad sufficient
defects TO condemn it. and the last heard Of
one of the craft was that it went to
pieces In the DaTdaDelles. This whale tor
pedO-boat, at Detroit, may be just the right
| invention, and if so IL would be Onomlc to
| bring it into use at once. IL such boat is
navigable during few hours at a consider
| able depth in deep water, II might soon
make short work of the largest fleet that
| floats. Itself invisible and unassailable,
| save by similar inventions, it could torpedo
! battle ships aud cruisers in quick succession,
and thus would disappear from the seas
| forever the costly, ugly and uncomfortable
monsters that now disgust sailors with a
/ profession no longer picturesque and
| rather more dangerous than in the
| days of wooden walls. TO believe that the
| Detroit invention is the precise craft which
! is sanguinely hoped for would SAVIOR of
| hallucinatiOD, with so many failures in
recollection; but science is equal to solving
| The problem before the century expires. IL
| is generation of good air supply more
| than anything else, and that is by no
means outside practical invention.
| The conviction Of scion of the aristoc-
racy in England for an indecent offense
shows that the favoritism SO commonly at
| tributed in cases where the parties are in
! fuential is by no means a faint characteristic
| OF the courts. If fayortism there is il
| arises in political Interference when the
courts have done their duty and there can
not be TOO much of that without peril. The
| young man who is now to reform himself
in Jail during.six months is not, as has been
| stated, brother of the late Lord Granville,
who was statesman OF distinction, butonly
! OF Lord GfeViile, one OF the peers who rank
| as nobody. The effect of this conviction
will be to disgrace him in society; but that
| there is forgiveness in these scandals was
shown by Colonel Baker, who offended
| much more seriously. being received years
afterward By the Prince Of Wales aud his
family.
IL may be devoutly hoped that the German
Emperor will not be so carried away by the
! pleasure and novelty Of having train de
| luxe of twelve cars as to Insist upon show
| ing it TO every crowned head In Europe
during the next summer. He can hardly
! do that II he persists in going on q whale.