New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-01-16
TOPICS IN CALIFORNIA.
COLD WEATHER ALONG THE COAST
KLONDIKE REPORTS DISCREDITED-
THE END OF THE DURRANT CASE
AN ODD DAMAGE SUIT.
my rrfEGRArE TO THE TnipUNE.I

vailed throughout the State this week. with a
heavy snowfall l., many places. Near San
r,,ego two feet Of snow fell. and In the noun
ta,ns ~ Mana and Sonoma counties there were
several inches Of snow The average raihiaN
FOR the season In the northern part or the S'a'e
Is orly ~ inches which Is little more than one
half Of the normal rainfall in pretty dry years
Those who take a gloomy view OF the proSpe''
liken this year to the season Of lS'o- a. VINE"
crops failed because Of lack OF RAIN oiu op
servers. ike General Bidwell and L. W. Maslin'
however declare that good rains any 'i'''e uu'
inc tho remainder Of the month will save the
wheat and feed and insure good frui' CROPS
Since 1S,9 tn ere have been no less than thirteen
seasons In which less than Al inches or RUIN
fell before January and yet there was an aoun-
dance ~ moisture to mai ure good crops. Care
full reports from southern California show 'ha'
,he damage 70 oranges and lemons from rrost
will not exceed Is per cent and that 1t proba-
h,v will not go beyond 10 per cent. Smudgins
saved many large groves from what would nave
been q crushing loss as the frosts were the
heaviest known in years
The reports of the discovery OF rich quartz
lodges on the Klondike are not accepted by local
mining experts. They say that the richhess VI
the rock has probably been exaggerated. They
experenced men who have explored the country
IN the ne,ghts)rhood OF Dawson City. and OF
course. the discovery OF quartz would mean 'he
per,nanencv of Dawson, for quartz would last
,or wars and would furnish good returns IL
NAV he that tire reports were sent down merely
70 encourage pY,ospectors to rush thither Nine
owners are eager to see a large numper OF men
enter the country next spring. with an apun-
dance NJ food for they desire to cut wages anu
thus lessen the enormous cost or getting OUT
gold The big clothing and grocery s'ores i"
San Francisco are full of kJond1ke outh's' pu'
the merchants have shown none OF the energy
g., so,icat,ns- the trade Of prospectors that the
cao+.Ia dealers have exhibited. The large ex-
odus ~ miners from Dawson has relieved 'he
shortage Of food and it is doubtful whether the
Government will be justified In spending iarSe
sum 10 send provisions in over the Ice ana
snow
With tho cremation of the body OF the exc
cu,ed murderer. DuITant. it Is hoped that case
which has filed the local newspapers lot weeks
will he allowed to drop out OF sight Inc
narents and lawyers both declare that they VIII
keen I'D the search for what they are pieaseu
"a call the real nnirdcreT of the TWO girls III
Emmanuel Church. but the absolute lack Oh
legal evidence against amy one else makes 'ie'i
talk absurd. The parents have been ru'iieu
financially by the long legal contest anu 'iie
nublic is curious TO know VINO furnlsheu 'he
large amount Of money needed TO pay the neces-
sary costs OF the appeals by when Du'Ia"'
life was prolonged for nearly two years
The election Of Miss Ina d. Cooibrith as IL
marian OF the Mercantile Library was well
deserved recognition of her literary work ana
49,. ,oou,,adse of books For twenty years she
,ras IN charge Of the Oakland Public Library
but several years ago she was forced out py
nolticians. With the aid Of the Womens AUX
diary and the assistance of the fenale MEMBERS
Miss Coolbrith hopes to build up the hora'S'
which has been sadly run down through neglect
and incompctence. The Mercantile has one OF
the finest library rooms in the country ana !"
will repay any tourist 10 Visit H.
William j. Martin manager or the san fra'i-
cisco office % the Western Union Ic!esraph
Coronanv has resigned. after twenty-five years
~ service 10 90 into other business, Which VI
- rim q larger financial return Martln is
Very accomplished t-leg7aph n aEager' anu ia
conjunction with Superintendent James; nc
carried through successfully SOME ieIilai hoO
r.nrl, one of his notable achievements was the
hondI;nq ON time Of the enormous mass OF spe-
cial and press dispatches sent out from az so.'.
New on the day OF the f'%si'iiiiio'i'0'0 ''
fight.
Omit a
,his rraex by Willie Collier in The Man from
Wnxico." There is nothing noteworthy al INC
other theatres
rha singular damage suit of Horace phil
brook a disbarred attorney, IS on tridi II, .no
I-ederal Court before Judge KNOWLES Oh MOI
,a,a Phillbrook was disbarred last year oe
cause Of offensive Language in a brle1' when re-
ear,ed ON certain Supreme Court Justices. he
;ntinated that all the justices had Deeh I'M
i','r,.,,. Influenced against him. AT the request
~ the Bar Association and after iuil nearing my.
PbilIhrook was condemned and thrown out.
Then he began the present damage sun at.. III
SJO0tnD against the SUPREME O'N ~
other Defendants
,,axander Badlarn who pioneer miner
ond afterward prominent in politics, serving for
,,.o terms es assessor of san Francisco ~ udil-
cerorslv i'll with asthma. Badlam ran lot d
80 term as assessor. He had a hard nght 10
got the nomination, but he assured the co.NeH-
,ion that if chosen on the ucket IL Wouiu Ne
cold dav when he got left" on the day ait .
~ ~ daTcat some humorists had a ton Of zee
dunne1 i'm Badlams back yard as a reinihuei
~ the cold day" Though Badlam was eIe, a..
practical joker. he failed 10 see any hu'''o' III
this.
bovs, dormitory building at Stanford University
has been closed for good. Ever since the Uni
yersity opened there has been troupe over lHc
meals at this commons. ana me business man
ocer has finally decided to close the dlnlng-
room and open a restaurant on the GROUNDS Tor
the convenience Of students VINO I'VE on the
campus
Tho reported discovery Of the fugitive muir
derer Tom Lawton in Idaho, has revived in
teresf IN the notorious Troy-Dye crimes in sac
ramento twenty years ago. Lawton was the
81 90 Of A gang Of three cOnspirators VINO
escaped the galows Dye was the Public ADJ
mjnistrator and he actually murdered num-
her Of old citizens Of large means. who ne knew
hoa made no wills in order to secure charge or
their property An accident led to the detec-
lion Of DYES crimes. The case Is one OF the
most celebrated IN California criminal annals.
I-ufor,unatelv though the evidence con-
elusive, all the witnesses are dead and it would
nrobably be Impossible 70 convict Lawton.
This week a contract was signed here for
800 additional stamps for the great Treadwell
mines on Douglas Island, opposite Juneau,
Alaska When these added 10 the present
battery the MINI will have $50 stamps. the
inraost nurnhnr on q single ledge In the world