New-York tribune., 1904-09-04
ON THE PACIFIC COAST.
knights Templars to Hare Brill
liant Parade Nert Tuesday.

San Francisco Sept. 2-Great preparations
are being made for the conclave OF knights
Templars, which opens next week. The main
streets are pcturesquely decorated and the dis
play of electrical effects will surpass anything
ever seen here before. The Court of Honor. at
the intersection OF Market Kearney and Third
sts., will contain nearly ten thousand electric
lights and with the electrical illumination OF
Market-st from Vanness-ave. to the Ferry
Building 1t will present very brilliant spec
tacle In the great parade next Tuesday, over
ten thousand Sir knights will be in line. and
two thousand will be mounted on black horses.
The programme for the entertainment of the Sir
knights Is varied. and includes many excur-
sions to neighboring scenic resorts.
A strong movement has been started by the
Christian Endeavor and Epworth leagues of San
Francisco to increase the license fees Of saloons
and liquor dealers. The present fee is the low
in the country. and the result is that there
than seven thousand places where
liquor is sold by the glass. The number OF
saloons is constantly increasing, the present
administration of the union labor Mayor is the
most wide open of any for twenty years. New
saloons opened nearly every week. and free
concert halls are permitted 20 run until far
into the small hours of morning.
Lett5On Balllet, Ine mining promoter, mas
been sued again In this city by stockholders
of the White Swan Mines Company for $685.
103 which they claim he received for sales of
the stock OF the company. and of which he
spent two-thirds not for the company's benefit.
Some of these expenditures are heavy lawyers
fees for defending Ballet against charges OF
fraud.
Ballet is entangled in meshes of law, and II is
doubtful if he will ever get free. He sold
large amount of stock of the White Swan COM
pany on representation that the mine val
uable and would pay dividends AS
matter of fact the mine has not been devei-
oped and In the judgment of experts 1t would
not pay for development. Thousands of smaIl
investors have been swindled, while Ballet has
lived like lord on the coin they sent him for
lis worthless mining stock.
A bill will be presented at the next session
of the State legislature for improving country
roads by the of convict labor.
There are two thousand eonvicts In two State
prisons at San Quentin and Folsom who are
idle. except for making jute bags and getting
out street paving stone. The bill asks that
these men be placed at work country roads,
many of which cannot be kept in order because
of the sparse population. The bill VIII be pre-
sented by A. c. Rulotson, of San Francisco an
automobilist, but he claims that farmers would
derive more advantage from good roads than
owners of autos
Heretofore labor unions have opposed every
effort to use prison labor roads, because they
claim IL would injure free labor yet county
supervisors unable to hire men for 81 %
day, which rs all they afford to pay for
this work.
The Sacramento grand jury has indicted the
Mayor and Chief of Police for permitting
gambling to be carried on at the State fair.
Public opinion has been SO aroused that every
form OF gambling will be prohibited in the
future. Or the State fair VIII be held in some
other city. For years the annual fair of the
State Agricultural Society has been used q