The San Francisco call., 1895-07-17
AROUND THE CORRIDORS.


of the recent war between the Japs and the
Chinese" said Frank Patterson, the Kearny-
street druggist, as he picked the cut end OF
grilled bone from his teeth in the Palace yes
terday, "until lately. 1t came home so hard
to me, however, that have had to take notice
of it. For why? Well, for camphor.
"From all can learn one hitherto unappre-
ciated result of that war is there is bound TO be
dearth OF camphor in the worlc Tor some
months, perhaps for years to come. Already
we druggists have been notified OF slight ad-
vance, and advices are to the effect that very
shortly there will be a raise OF per cent. 1t
may go higher.
This will be appreciated in every home in
the land, for the very good reason that II is
known in every home. Besides, 1t aHects the
whole world. l notice by the papers that In
England the imports of camphor have fallen
off to less than 5000 packages for the hrst four
months of this year, as against lS,0O0 PACK
ages received from January to April 80, 1894.
From Japan and China goodly proportion OF
the camphor used by the medical world and In
domestic economy comes, though the camphor
tree, or camphor laurel, is cultivated to some
extent in Formosa, Java and the West Indies.
'.The dearth of this popular drug means con-
siderable, as its uses are far-reaohing and It's
Importance is great. That sk1litul french
chemist, Raspil, recommended camphor as one
of the chief specifics for the cure OF many all
ments. For fainting fits, gout and rheuma-
tism, sprains, bruises and chllbialns ana as
cure for hysteria and a remedy against cpl
lcpsy, hardly anything else can be found as
useful.
"Moths, not Ouida's, but the common, every
day moth that futters around in the gaslight,
will be the most benefited by the dearth OF
camphor. Without camphor the housewife Is
likely to have an exceedingly hard time. A
substitute for 1t in moth matters 1t would be
hard to find. Taxpayer has never been espe-
cially effective and has never reached high
point of popularity.
1.-TWO good substances which, In housewifery,
can take the place of camphor on pinch, are
bitter apples and black pepper. The apples,
dried and broken up into small pieces, are
even more efficacious than camphor for moths,
and they cost less in the long run. Black pep
per, we'll sprinkled over the articles that are
to be put away, will render them practically
moth proof.
"But, come to think of it, If camphor does
become q rare drug within the next few
months, there is no need to become uneasy.
Chemists have discovered way OF manufac-
turing artificial camphor by the union of hy-
drochloric acid gas and oil OF turpentine. This
substance is soluble in alcohol and possesses
a camphor-like odor."
Congressman T. C. Joy of Missouri has done
nothing for the last few hours but settle sew
eral demands for cold bottles, which seem to
be on him very heavily.
1t seems that he came to the night clerk of
the Palace Hotel few evenings ago, and with
q great display of secrecy handed him little
pasteboard box, with the information that 1t
contained valuables. 'I want this placed in
the safe, Mr.. Harmon" he said, Gas many costly
things are in it. 1 viii go out this evening
with Mrs. Joy and would prefer to have 1t in
secure place"
GAIL right, SIR" responded the clerk, with
one of his justly celebrated bows and the box
was tucked away in far corner, after which
the combination was turned twice and the
Congressman went his way rejoicing.
The next evening he returned to the office
and politely said to Mr.. Martin: 81 will take
the box of valuables left with you last even
ing" The box was delivered and Mr.. Joy
opened it before the clerk. Greatly to his sur
prise it contained nothing but a tortoise-shell
comb and few pieces of tissue paper. The
clerk blushed and SO did Mr.. Joy. Both gentle
men looked confused. Several attempts at ex-
PLANTATION were INDUCED in, but Mr.. Joy could
not account for the disappearance of the jewels,
and Mr.. Martin knew the box had not left the
safe. There was a long, painful spell Of heavy
silence, and both gentlemen grew very polite
to each other. Everything was looking Pc
culiar to various people who stood around and
thought all by themselves. Very little was
said, however. Finally Mr.. Harmon, who re-
ceived the package, was sent for. He also
knew nothing The participants were all on
the defensive, but not blow was struck. But
it was getting frigid for somebody.
Presently the Congressman went upstairs to
see Mrs. Joy about the strange disappearance.
In a short time he returned and sneaked
around to the cashier. Those who were near
enough heard him whisper:
"Say, old man, the wine is on me. My wife
gave me the wrong box, and the jewels have
been upstairs all the time"
Mr.. JOY is paying his losses like man.
Local capitalists and mining men are daily
seeing good properties taken up and developed
into bonanzas by outside push and energy.
One of the enterprising operators is w. A.
Bell, an English gentleman who is largely in
terested in several countries, notably Austria
liza, Africa, Fl onduras and Sumatra.
81 have never yet seen power and mineral SO
advantageously placed" said Mr.. Bell at the
Occidental last night. "In our Australian
mines we have ore running over two ounces Of
gold to the ton, yet the expense for water is so
great as to make the comparative profit small.
We literally have to purchase water by the
gallon for our batteries Compare this with
the mines we have recently purchased in El
Dorado County near Kelsey. One mine ad-
joining us, the Dalmatia, has been worked for
46 cents per ton, and when we get our new
ditch and electric plant running we will do
even better than this and have ample power to
spare. This will probably be the cause of scme
dozen or more mines opening"
"We had queer experience in Sumatra,"
said Mr.. Bell 1--WE opened gravel deposit for
gold and also found a valuable diamond de-
posit, and will now work the claim for both"
He reports the prospects around Ell Dorado
as very bright. His two mines, the Gopher
and Boulder, are being put into thorough
shape, while the outlook with the Lady Emma
and Gentle Annie is excellent The Taylor is do
ing as well as usual and the Orc Fino is going
to be one OF the great mines of the State. Nu-
merous mills are being erected on all sides.
"Cheap electric power" said Mr.. Bell, sis the
genie that is going to bring to California pros
perity never before enjoyed. English capital is
always ready to invest in good legitimate mines
and that is what you have here.''
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OPINIONS OF EDITORS.
The riparian decision of the Siskiyou case is
one that should be studied by Stockton people.
Though the question decided is not exactly
like what may arise in the protection matter,
1t shows that all phases of the water question