The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1908-04-19

OF the Taft opposition seems TO De
reliance on the negro element. SEN
ator Foraker is working the Browns
Vile incident" for all it is worth, with
out much promise that it will damage
Secretary Taft's encouraging prospects
As secretary of war he merely executed
the viii of President Roosevelt in the
Brownsville affair. This is well under
stood by the most intelligent of the
colored people and these are the lead
ers- The president is not unpopular
with the colored voters They know
that he does not draw the color line.
If a negro has brains and education and
a gentlemanly bearing he is treated
accordingly. The president was not too
proud to have Booker Washington as
his guest at dinner at the White
House. This, too is we'll remembered
by the colored people. There are nu-
merous indications in various parts of
the country that Taft will receive the
enthusiastic support of colored repub
licans Intelligent negro voters are
rapidly coming to realize that design
ing politicians are seeking to mislead
them, and they are, therefore, more de-
termined to assert their independence
by standing by the candidates against
whom the effort has been made I'M
fairly TO prejudice them.
The New York Age. one of the lead
recent editorial under the caption, The
Negroes and Secretary Taft" said:
It is pleasing to note that there is very
strong sentiment growing up among colored
Of the candidacy OF Secretary Taft for the
nomination al Chicago in June Thoughtful men
have begun 10 study the man and his splendid
career. What he has done for the Filipino and
The Cuban lie will do for the negro American
when the opportunity comes to him.
Upon returning home from a visit TO Washing
no ptfif ID
ored) wrote: '-Our meeting with the war secre-
tary and his expressions have convinced us that
he viii be friend Of tie negro and the laboring
man of this country when he takes the cath "f
office March T. 1909
The effort of the Taft opposition to
array the negroes against the Ohio
candidate shows TO what extremity
it is reduced.
Hetty Green's interview. published a
month ago. telling how a member of
the Vanderbilt family, hard pressed
during the late panic, sought to raise
money by pledging the family jewels,
has never been denied by her She
will neither repudiate nor confirm the
interview, but for weeks has avoided
the interviewers. At the time it sus-
pected that Mrs. Green had referred 10
William X. Vanderbilt Jr. That gentle
man, however. when questioned turned
red with Indignation and declined to
answer impairment questions.
A broker here who makes a business
of loaning money on personal property
criticised Mrs. Green for her garrulous
interview. Even If her statements
We're true" said he. land 1 have no
reason for believing that the lady
would misrepresent the facts and do
not believe she would do so, that is all
the more reason why she should have
been more discreet. People in financial
distress should be protected. rather
than exposed. If I should publish the
names OF rich people who came to me
for loans during the recent panic, New
York society would sit up and take
notice, for some names high up in the
400 would be included. They tried to
realize en- jewels, automobiles, and even
on their Libraries and paintings, some
Of which are valued in the aggregate
at hundreds Of thousands of dollars. I
imagine that the money so urgently
required was needed to protect stock
purchased on margin. You have no
. idea of the enormous amount of bust
ness transacted in Wall street on a
margin basis. 1t is not only the poor
clerk or wage Garner, but people in
every walk of life, including the rich,
who purchase stocks on the margin or
( credit system as ii is called since the
agitation has been going on at Wash
ington, and at Albany. to suppress
margin gambling
The automobile trade was badly hit
by the financial stringency. Sales are
few by American manufacturers com
pared with former years and imports
are even less. The falling off in dia-
mond and jewelry import has been even
more pronounced. The woes of the
poor rich are detailed in some dry sta
tistics given--out by Appraiser George
W. Wanamaker. During the month OF
March, the total value of automobiles
imported into this country through
New York was only 1927, 946, or a scant
third of the value of automobile impor-
! tations in March of last year
The most remarkable falling off is
/ that of precious stones and jewelry.
/ The total value for March was $3S9514
about So 600. 600 below the value of dia-
monds and pearls imported in March,
1907.
But the panic" that affected most
! lines of trade inJuriously, was an act
ual benefit to the real estate and build
/ ing construction. Apartment houses
are springing up like magic in Harlem
and Bronx and other outlying districts
! especially in Queens county, Long
! island. and in New Jersey, territory
4 now reached by the Hudson river tun-
mel. Downtown many tall office struc-
lures are going up rapidly An office
building has. been started at the cor
ner of West and Washington streets
It Will be 447 feet high, with SO sto-
1 ries. Buildings completed and in course
OF construction with from % to &c
stories are no longer a rarity in New
York They no longer attract unusual
notice, but are common sights in upper
and lower Broadway, in the financial
district, at Bowling green and the Bat
terry. Professor Koch, the eminent bac-
| teriologist, who arrived here last week
was amazed at all he saw. The sky
scrapers stunned him. Il cannot I'M
derstand it, he said. A party of upper
class Italians who arrived here last
year were differently impressed. They
laughed loudly when they first view &c
the skyscrapers, they are so funny
Who would want to occupy the topmos
stories like Jack and the beanstalk?'
The buildings are as near fireproof as
possible. All parts are of iron, steel
stone, cement or glass. The floors are
of cement Only the doors and win
dows are of wood This fireproof con-
struction is rendered necessary by the
deficient water pressure. Water can.
not be forced higher than 10 to Is sto-
ries in sufficient volume to extinguisI
/ a fire.
rrba new building at West and