The San Francisco call., 1898-03-20
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ByHENRY JAMES.

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 A gentleman who writes for the San Jose News gently corrects me for op- jecting to the action of an Oaklano Judge in having discharged a man guilty of wife beating, because the VIC tim of the beating had asked 1t. But I find upon reading his article that we agreed remarkably we'll. His idea IS that wife beaters deserve severe pun ishment. He wants them haled to the whipping post. Where we differ is as to the adequate penalty. l would have them haled to the nearest lamp post and hanged.
 The case of Colonel Finegan of San Rafael is of peculiar interest as show ing how a man with money can make a monkey of the dignity of the law Ffnegan claims to be a pauper. He asserts that he is unable to pay his divorced wife the alimony she fde- mands and the courts uphold him in his absurd position. Finegan has plenty of money to supply himself with the luxuries of life. That he is pauper nobody believes, least of all himself. It seems to me that even if the ex-wife cannot have her dues there ought to be some way of sending Fine gan back to 1aik
 It is a rare pleasure to be able to agree with the Evening Post, and I avail myself of the opportunity. Its position as to the inutility of send ing missionaries to China Is unassail- able. If missionaries abroad have ever done any good I have failed to hear of it. For them to go to China and try to tell the people there what Is a suitable form of religion for them has always seemed to me a distinct i'm pertfnence. While they occasionally have trouble, the marvel Is that they do not have more. They deserve to be led to the border and firmly kicked in the direction of home. Millions of dollars are wasted in trying to save the souls" of the Chinese before we have any good evidence that the Chi- nese have souls, or that the quality of soul they may have is worth saving. Certainly the Chinese Christian as known in this country is a fraud, us- ing his piety as cloak, and as an ex- cuse for making love to some suscepti- ble teacher, who perhaps marries him and goes into the business of rearing half breeds 1 do not believe that since the dawn of Christianity a sin- gle Chinese was ever won over to it., and I do not believe 1t of the slight est importance that any should be. say this with the greatest respect for | the opinions of those who differ from me. They have the same right to their opinions I have to mine.
 Perhaps 1t will not be amiss to say a pleasant word about Attorneys McIn- tosh and Raymond. If ever there ap- l peared against the local horizon two fellows more frankly knaves than these I chanced to miss the sight. It seems that they were engaged to defend against the charge of murder a man known as Hoff. This is only a parr of his name, but it may serve to iden- l tify him. They entered into scheme for selling a confession" of their client, and peddled it assiduously de- spite the averments of their client that he had nothing to confess. Aside from the intrinsic villainy of the scheme must be considered the reflection it constituted upon the law they are sworn to uphold. Their idea seems l to have been to sell the mans declar- ation of guilt and devote the proceeds to lining their pockets. and incidentally 1 to proving the prisoner an innocent 1 liar. If their course was not an in- suit to the public. and particularly to the, court, there is no such thing as an insult. If 1t was not an attempted swindle, then the man who sells gold brick made of brass is an angel of guilelessness. Think of taking the money derived from a confession of guilt and using part of it to establish the fact that the confession was false, or that being true, the statutes were powerless to punish the culprit. My congratulations to the gentlemanly scoundrels; not that they deserve con- gratulations particularly, but note must be taken of the fact that at least one of them is still out of jail.
 
 It is necessary for me as part of the daily routine to ride in the Jackson street car, leaving the foot of Powell street little after in the evening About one time in ten it is my blessed privilege to occupy seat. The other nine times I go swaying over the hills l Wn1le hanging on 10 a strap. W1Shlng cordially that the management of the road could be hanged to something which withheld the privilege of touching the ground. The only reason more cars are not provided is stinginess. abetted by the natural gallantry of men. There are few men who can ride in a seat con- scious that in the same car, and per- haps emitting reproachful glances, there are ladies maintaining with diffi- culty footing on the constantly changing slant of the floor. So the man gets up, tips his hat. and perhaps his courtesy is ac' lowledged. Now, I be- lieve that to surrender seat is wrong, excepting of course in the case of old people and inyalids. As a matter of 1 fact woman is just as able to stand as a man. The impulse not to permit her to do so Is working hardship on the community. A man will S ny on his bobbing legs for a mile and never grumble, but let him learn that his wife or daughter has had similar experience and there will be no end to his indig-