The San Francisco call., 1898-03-27

From Arroyo Grande somebody sends me a poem, asking for an expression of opinion as to it's merits. do not know why so delicate a task should have been thrust upon me, and must decline to accept the responsibility. l neither write poetry nor claim to be a judge of it. If I were to say that the feet of the Arroyo Grande product seemed to me not to be mates, doubtless I would incur the wrath of lady whose poetry may not be perfect, but whose esteem may De worth having. Therefore, she will, know, permit me to be non-committal. Besides, human estimates are apt to savor of error. would hate to say the effort was lack ing in any essential feature, and then find myself guilty of having disparaged the work of a Miltoness. Please hold the poem until the return of the half cared Joaquin Miller.
 There Is one point which has puzzled many worthy people. Why is it that in a city having the benefit of schools there is a habit of using the verb bring" when the evident intent Is to convey the meaning usually borne in upon the intelligence by the verb take? I am grieved to learn that teachers employed to instruct the young are guilty of this crime, and their certificates are not annulled.
 It is of course impossible to tell with accuracy where the suicides who are also homicides go, but I hope it is not to heaven. There is no pleasant way Of pun1Shing the criminal who himself inf1icts the penalty which represents the extreme of the law. The only check to be thought of is one hedging the act about with sentiment of the utmost detestation. I would deny to this type of criminal the privilege of Christian burial. It would not do to inter him at the cross roads, as of old, with stake driven through his carcass, for this would tend to depreciate real es- tate in the vicinity of the cross roads, and discourage the moonlight ramble. But the cadaver ought to be turned over to science and carved by chortling students who smoke cigarettes the while, and at last be sent to the gar bage crematory.
 In all the foolish talk about the Maine disaster there has been none more silly than that charging Weyler with the crime. Of course the man is a mur- derer. and deserves, as nearly as can be computed, to hang ,0O0 times over. But a commander in charge of a city open to attack has a right to provide it with ade- quate defenses. Whenever the United States shall get ready to plant it's har- bors with torpedoes it will undoubtedly do so. The crime of setting off the tor pedo, if such thing was done, must be ascribed to somebody other than Wey- Ter If the guilty can be caught he should be executed. If there seems to be occasion later for executing Weyler plenty of grounds can be found for do- ing so, and therefore the plan of con- meeting him with the Maine disaster is a waste of time.
 When the Examiner states that only twenty per cent of the murders com mitted in Europe and America are dis covered, I cannot help but wonder how it knows. If it is possessed of second sight to the extent this information would seem to indicate, it ought to clap
 
 a particularly such as would enable it to give details.
 Probably the public, too busy to take interest in the schools it's children at tend, has not observed closely the row which eliminated in dismissal of Prin- cipal Fitzpatrick. For one, I neglected to follow it, but noting that the princi- pal had achieved the disesteem of such Directors as Waller, Drucker and Ra- gan, cannot avoid the conclusion that in all likelihood he is a good man.
 It is little early to charge with cowardice the policemen who were with Lieutenant Burke when he was shot. Comparatively few people have had the experience of facing a gun in the hands of desperate man, or possess more than theoretical knowledge how such a situation would inspire them to act. Perhaps the critics would have run as fast and as far as the police men. Anyhow the department dem onstrated that it has good sprinters in plenty, and that they only need to be instructed as to the proper direction in which to sprint to become terrors to evil. But regardless of the ques- tion of courage, the community has distinct grievance. It has been de- prived of faithful guardian, one con- corning whose probity, kindliness and grit no issue had ever risen, The man who committed the murder was not killed. Here was a duty neglected. He should have been filled so full of lead that he could only have been ere mated at a smelter. For years he had led a useless and vicious life his hand against every neighbor. There was no doubt that he was deliberate in the assassination of Burke, that he intend ed the slaughter of others. Yet armed officers permitted him to stand in the open and take the pistol dropped by the relaxing fingers of his victim. Let 1t not be charged that the observers were scared. Perhaps they were sim ultaneously stricken with paralysis Now, because this creature was hauled away in the patrol instead of the dead wagon, a trial will be necessary.