The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 10, 1917, Page 4

SR /L P Business In---Politics Out City Street Cars in San Francisco Have Meant Public Profits, Better Service, - and Freedom From Graft BY OLIVER S. MORRIS N 1913 San Fransico was building the great world's exposition which was to be opened during 1915. The ex- position had to have street car service when it opened, or nobody could see what the city was spending $50,000,000 to erect. The exposition commissioner asked the United Rail- roads, operating most of the street car lines, what they intended to do about it. The city of San Francisco had a municipally owned line in operation at that time, but the commissioners never thought, of asking the city line to serve the exposition. They were mostly big business men who were op- posed to publicly owned utilities “on principle.” It wouldn’'t do to have the city extend its own publicly own- ed lines to serve the exposition, where all the world, visiting at the Golden Gate, could see. The United Railroads said, in effect, that the street railway business was a poor paying proposition and that they were not over anxious to build new lines and extensions for one Year's exposition business. They add- ed, however, that as a matter of ac- comodation they would extend lines for the exposition commissioners if the latter would see to the trifling mat- ter of having the city government ex- tend certain franchises then held by the corporatioh. GIVE THE RAILROADS ANYTHING THEY WANT So the exposition commissioners went down to the city hall and talked it over with the city officials. “We've got to have car service to the exposition, so you must give the United Railroads what they want, so they will build the lines we want,” said the exposition commissfoners. The United Railroads were playing a trump card. They knew the city would not extend their franchises un- der ordinary circumstances, so they thought they would make the exposi- tion commissioners force the city to do so. Now the city had previously decided that it was not going to give any more franchises to private cor- porations to make a profit out of the . Street car business. The city had one or two lings of publicly owned street cars in operation and the city had de- cided that in place of giving new fran- chises and extending old ones, it would take over the business itself as the company’s franchises expired. So the city officials, who believed in public ownership, were piined and surprised at the attitude of the exposition com- missioners, who never thought of ask- ing the extension of the municipal lines to meet the emergency. Fur- thermore, the Chamber of Commerce and most of the newspapers opposed Eleven years ago San Francisco, scourged by earthquake and fire, went through its valley of death—and came out, carried through by the indomitable spirit of its people. A year later the city by the Golden Gate again went through an hour of trial. The most astounding graft in the history of the country was uncovered. Almost every city official was found to have been corrupted; even the relief funds for the homeless refugees of a year before had been pilfered. Back of all this cor- ruption, and directly responsible for most of it, was shown to be the United Railroads, dominating the street railway systems of the bay. Again the people of San Francisco rose to the test. They cleaned house with a vengeance and sent the boodlers to the peni- tentiary. As a result of the exposure of the railroad bribery, of the ‘‘public be damned’’ attitude of the corporation and its poor serv- ice, the demand for a city railway system grew. How this demand has resulted in the most efficient and suecessful traction system that can be found anywhere in the United States today is *told in this article. further extension of the publicly own- ed system. But the city officials, elected because they were staunch munrnicipal ownership men, stood pat. CITY DOESN'T YIELD TO STREET CAR GAME “We will give the company no con- cessions to serve the exposition,” they said. ‘“We have our own street car lines and we will extend them to meet the emergency. Go back and build your exposition. Leave the trans- portation to us.” The city was planning on certain extensions of the publicly owned lines anyway. They were going to ask the people for another bond issue as it was, and they simply included $1,000,- 000 extra in bonds to build tracks for the exposition service. The asked for $3,500,000 and the people gave it— gave it by a two-thirds majority. The law provides that bonds in San Fran- cisco have to have a two-thirds ma- jority to pass. To make a long story short the city spent that $1,000,000 and built the necessary lines to serve the ~ exposition, carried back and forth practically all the people who attend- ed the big show in 1915, and made a profit on the business. Incidentally the United Railroads did not renew its grip on the city by getting more concessions. WHAT “EVERYBODY SAID” AND WHAT HAPPENED Everybody said the city lines would not be constructed on time; that the exposition would@ open without proper service; that even if the lines were built, what did the. city know about operating lines to serye a big propo- sition like this exposition? As a mat- ter of fact the transportation facili- ties to and from the exposition were the best any exposition ever had. Visi- tors at San Francisco, who had at- tended many expositions, remarked on it. The action of the city in the ex- position case is typical of the attitude of the city on the question of publie ownership. The people stand back of their municipal prejects and are proud Ruins of San Francisco’s old city hall, destroyed in the earthquake and fire of 1906. FOUR e T B S U S San Francisco has demolished the theory that public ownership means polities in busi- ness. Its municipal system today outclasses the old bossridden system just as much as the handsome new Civic Center buildings outelass the old City Hall ruins. Above—One of San Francisco's city= owned street cars and new Public Lis brary, part of the new Civic Center. Below—one of the tunnels cut through a city hill, to give better streetcar serv- ice. e T e e T e e B of them. They did not get a publice ly owrled stret car line without a hard fight, and they have not been able to retain it to date, extend it and make the great succes it is without a cone tinual fight. Back in 1902 and 1903, before the fire and earthquake, the peopie twice by a big majority voted to start a publicly owned street railroad. Howe ever, the necessary two-thirds majorie ty required for bond issues in San Francisco was not obtained. In-1906 the earthquake ripped up all the street car lines of the city and the city ¢oun- cil appropriated -$320,000 out of taxes to build a municipal line on Geary street, where the franchise held by a private corporation had expired. This money was instead diverted to re- building streets destroyed in the dis- aster. A year later the council ap- propriated $720,000 out of taxes for the same purpose. This was carried to court by the street railway interests and others opposed to public ownere ship and the courts knocked it outs Then n .1909 the people voted again on bonds and again the proposition, while it got a big majority, did not get the necessary two-thirds majorie ty. It lost by 203 votes. Six months later, however, another election was held on the same proposition and it carried by a much larger vote than the necessary two-thirds. These bonds Two viewq of the new city hall are shown on ‘the opposite pag’e; 4