The San Francisco call., 1899-01-01

WITH ENTIRE FRANKNESS.
BY HENRY JAMES.


]
To some extent admiration seems to
have been withheld from the Corbin
| scheme Of clearing Santiago harbor of
mines by sending into it boat fortified
with baled hay. Whether a shell such
as would have sunk a cruiser would
! have glanced harmlessly from fort
| built of mule fodder is a matter which
may never be determined. l am OF the
opinion that the fodder would have
| been dissipa ed, TIE men behind it blown
| to kingdom come and the hardship of
| hunger visited upon the faithful mule.
However a plain civilian has no right
to vaunt himself as to matters military.
| L notice with regret the death of Mrs.
Elizabeth Mallon of New York, bright
and brainy woman, whose work in the
Ladies' Home Journal it has been d
! pleasure and a duty to eXcorlate.
Judged by the Box standard, this work
was excellent, enough to condemn it
in the judgment of common sense. 1t
was written over the signature Ruth
! AShmOre," and consisted of namby-
| pamby advice to milk and water girls,
reeked of piety and altogether was the
| perfection of Bokanalian literature.
But as Bah" Mrs Mallon wrote reason
albeit with tinge of wickedness. I
do not mean this in an invidious sense,
but simply that she displayed knowl-
edge of the world. To be able to as
sumo two characters so distinct, in
each fulfilling the requirements, showed
Mrs. Mallon to be person far above
| the common. The hired writer ordi-
narily, must do that which the payer
of the hire requires. This is not always
| easy, but the ability to adapt oneself
! to the requirements of the moment is
the indication of genius. 1t shows,
moreover, that as a molder of public
opinion the writer is handicapped.
My entire sympathy is with General
Miles in his assaults upon the thrifty
| gentlemen who sold the Government
rotten beef for the use of the soldiers
in Cuba. He should be court -martialed
for making complaint, and thus be en-
abled to complete the expose. Con-
tractors who. would be guilty of the
crime alleged ought to have their plants
confiscated, and themselves eXiled to
the most distant isle acquired during
the war, as traitors to the country.
A gentleman by name Crane, by pro-
fession a preacher, and by intrinsic
character a thorn in the side of civili-
zation, arises to rebuke President Nc
Kinley for having uttered pleasant and
conciliatory words during his recent
trip in the South Brother Crane, how
ever, neglects to fortify himself by any
excerpt from the Writ which L doubt not
he ably expounds. If he believes all
he says, his duty is to provide himself
bloody shirt and a musket and en-
deavor to set his plan of fraternity
in operation.
The Supervisors about to retire have
refused to do anything toward estop-
ping burials in the city cemeteries. This
circumstance alone ought to be enough
to commend the plan The folly of try
ing to maintain a series of burying
grounds while the growth of the town
is pressing around and beyond them is
manifest to anybody who thinks. This
does not by any means imply that it is
manifest to a Supervisor The ceme-
delay, however brought about, will only
make more expensive the ultimate re-
moval. A graveyard is not only SOM
Der blot when in the center of popula-
ton, but it is a menace to health and
a bar to progress. The reason for
opposing removal in the present in
stance is not Difference to the dead,
but the selfish interests of the living,
and a small minority of the living at
that.
''B. H" Nobody that know of has
been advocating the doctrine" that
nations flourish, decline and die. That
statement is but the setting forth of
fact. AS to whether or not the setting
forth is polite there may be diverse
opinions Some people do shy at the
truth. However, as to this nation, we
can have the comfort that we as indi-
viduals will decline and die first
There were some features of the Bot
kin trial open to the criticism of any
equipped with mental faculties. The
abuse to which the witnesses for the
State were subject was without ex-
it. To be a witness is not to be a
criminal. On the contrary, it is to per
form a duty required not alone by the
interests of justice, but by the specific
terms of the law. One having knowl-
edge of crime and concealing it be-
comes an accessory and must bear a
measure of the guilt. Yet those who
responded to statutory summons and
threw such light as they could upon an
awful deed of murder were insulted by
the prisoners attorneys, their reputa-
tions assailed wantonly while they were
helpless before the gaping throng of
idlers and degenerates. Later, the in
suits were renewed. BY what right
does a lawyer classify working girl
who from necessity wears glasses as
"a goggle-eyed pot-walloper"? Where
is the bravery in attacking an unpro-
tected woman? There should be less of
such brutality. That lawyer can be
gentleman has been demonstrated,
but that some lawyers can't has been
made equally clear. Another feature
of the trial even more disgusting was
the presence day after day of lot of