The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 14, 1895, Page 9

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 1895. 9 - LOADING SYNDICATE WHEAT AT PORT COSTA. (et e b Ry Rl At - A Y s cesvmnn N Weea s ra S - gt LW e m @ DS S S e e bt Fvéb 7 — o R 0 S weR oy T\® 7. 2% P ). OURT ig ships are lashed to e warehouse docks at Port Costa, y men are loading the te wheat for Liver- a large lot— 180,000 th < iy air pool. tons in all s the spacious ware- houses to overflowing. This year’s crop will begin to come in about the last week y nd where it is to be stored is ody seems to know. At the at rate of moving August will see only Lalf of the present loton shipboard, and e the harvest of the oresent season is n enigma. is not at all wo The combi t is ried. The to play with as they rmers of Califorr r y. Now the mercy of a tri tender, and the producers are sor With plenty of ships : nd and a thousand idle men ging ound the docks and begging for employ- ment the warehouses might soon be cleared of this enormous block of wheat that has been used market of ornia. But the game is not yet over. The ulti- mate dollar has not vet been exiracted, 1d it is fair to presume that the combine Lold the deal over th f theirs a combination to bull the | the others, trying to iri ) | millionaire'into selling the lot in | But the admi no longer use it as a conjuror’s rod where- with to bring the farmer to their terms. When the last of the Fair wheat is on the water the market will probably revive. But the combine is in no hurry. Administrators unused to subtle tricks of finance are not met with every day and forced to sell far below the market price because outgeneraled in the matter of transportation. Senator Fair in his life- time did not do things that way. No one ever got up a corner on ships that he was likely to have use for. No combine ever forced him to sell at a loss. One can imagine McNear, Eppinger and ten the dead uestion at $17 per ton, on the plea that all the ships had been chartered for the nextsix months. The weevil story would not have startled the dead financier either and at a pinch he would probably have built his own ships inistrators—that is anothe story. They sold, and Port Costa is glad that they did, because it has made things lively up there a month earlier than usual. Port Costa is a quiet town with a fluctua- ing population. For nine months in the e dreams in languorous inactivity. here is little toil, and no spinning to k of. But when the hills above the »w bare and brown, and the long wheat trains rumble in from the valleys of the south, the town bestirs itself from a nine months’ lethargy and takes on a el =Big men with brawn and muscle to sell flock there from all parts of the State to help load the ships. Buildingsalong Steam Beer row, unused for months, rent readily for lodging-houses and stores, and the rusty rails that thread the principal thor- | oughfare grow bright under the incessant pounding of busy switch-engines. With returning activity the negro minstrel comes, the circus, the light-fingered faro- dealer and the gaudily bedecked siren of the dance-hall. At Casey’s place, down on the row, they run three games all night, and over in the canyon behind the hills | longshoremen meet frequently to emulate the prowess of ‘Bloody Mike” Brennan and Sailor Brown in a twenty-four foot ring. Port Costa is not without real fame, though. Old settlers Foint with pride to the fact that it is the largest wheat depot in California. It shares with Benicia the | honor of having the largest ferry-boat in the world. And then there was the Port Costa giant—Mike Brennan—who used to load wheat at 25 cents per hour. To be sure, he was not a native of Port Costa (who is?),but he lived there for many years, | waxed strong at rustling 100-pound wheat | sacks, then whipped five men in Casey’s | one night, and finally trained on a free- | lunch diet and stood up for forty-nine furi- | ous rounds before the great Jack McAuliffe. The giant is living in Chicago now and has given up loading wheat, but they { boom aspect. still boast of his mighty arms and lightn- ing action as they stow away the grain for Liverpool. When the wheat is all loaded and the ships have sailed away across the water the popuiation runs rapidly from 1500 or 2000 souls down to 200 or less, and for those left there is absolutely nothing to do. The faro banks suspend, the stores close, the minstrel seeks a wider field, and those who deciae to wait around for the wheat to come again occupy themselves in sleeping and catfishing around the wharves, This year the town awoke a month earlier than usual and prepared to load the Fair wheat. In two days after the deal the Fupulutiuu had trebled. In four days it had jumped from 200 to 1000, and they are still coming. The big warehouses where the loading is going on stretch along the irregular shore line from Nevada dock to Starr’s mills, a distance of neaflystwo miles. The Gran- gers’ warehouse holds 398,903 centals, the Pacific warehouse 638,000 centals, the Port Costa warehouse 708,957 centals, the Cali- fornia warehouse 102,000 centals, the Ne- vada warehouse 766,403 centais and Starr’s warehouse 811,312 centals. Some idea of the magnitude of this enormous sale may be gathered from the fact that the admin- istrators received for the block the sum of George McNear got 60,050 tons, Ep- nger & Co. 57,450 tons, Balfour, Guthrie Co. 50,050 tons, and Blum, Baldwin & Girvin 12,060 tons. McNear's bill for storage alone amounted to $110,000, and the commissions on the sale to $89,000, this sum being equally divided between McGlauflin & Co., and H. Dutard. Taxes on the lot for the year amounted to $25,961 65, which was paid by the adminis- trators a short time before the sale. Of course the weevil story, set on foot no doubt for a purpose which was not lacking in intended effect, was a myth pure an simple, as was also the rumor that the wheat was showing signs of decay. Now from the farmer’s warehouse to the ship- per's warehouse and then aboard the ship usually completes the havoc. 5iost of the Fair wheat, besides the usual exposure on the harvest-field, has heen transferred so often that it is'in anything but good con- dition for shipping. In loading three methods are em- { Tlo.\'ch As in every other department of | human labor machinery has come to the { aid of the owner and dispensed with the | use of many hands seeking employment, and then'a rotten streak is encountered, | thus rendering obsolete processesin.former and occasionally the work of the weevil is | vogue. seen, but this would naturally follow in i Staging was formerly used, and had only any lot of wheat two years old. As a | one fault—it required too many hands. By matter of fact the loss from these sources | this method fifty or sixty men could will not amountto anything worth men- | work on one ship, taking the sacks from tioning, and for grain from the crop of | the truckmen as they were brought along- 1893, it may be said to be in as perfect con- | side and passed from” one stage to another, dition as may be expected. BiWith the sacks it is different, and decay is everywhere. This occasions considera- | opened and the sacks passed througlr to | ble difficulty in handling, but does not necessarily im¥ employment of an unusual number of men in resacking. This is said to be due to the methods used in harvesting, which are in- ferior to the old methods, where the grain must remain for a long time in storage. ‘With the combined harvester the wheat is sacked and dumped from the trip board to the ground, where it is allowed to lie for four or five days on the ground exposed to the scorching rays of the sun. This burns the sack, and the moving | and thence over the side and down the | hatchways. In some cases the ports were | men on the inside. At the present time ly any loss further than the | hoisting is the method most in use, though | the others are occasionally resorted to, the | manner of loading being due, to some ex- | tent, to the position of the chip in the water. | In hoisting, a “donkey” engine is placed | upon a barge, which is made fast to the | opposite side of the ship. Tackle is low- | ered over the wharf side, and the sacks picked up and dropped into the hatchway —eighteen in a bunch. This is a big saving of labor, reducing the force necessary by either of the otha? processes by about one-half. The men are divided into gangs, ranging in number from six to twelve or fifteen, according to the needs of the sitnation. Gang bosses are paid $6 per day. Truckmen receive 25 cents per hour, while men who work in the hatches or over the side of the ship gets 55 cents per hour. It is the duty of the gang bosses to keep the truckmen under them moving at an easy trot from 7 in the morning until 5 at night, with an hour off at noon. As the labor of the other men depends upon the regularity with which the sacks are brought alongside, it may ba inferred that the crews throughout are kept at the highest point of exertion. he ships now at the Port Costa docks are, with a single exception, all iron bots toms of English build. In tonnage they range from 5000 tons to 1500 tons, tha former being the tonnage of the Dunstaff- nage, the heaviest ship in port, and the latter figures marking the burden of the Elmhurst, the smallest craft now waiting for a cargo. Of the fourteen ships docked only six are being loaded. It is clear that the com< bine is in no hurry. The syndicate wheat is a heavy club for the farmers of Califor+ nia. The ships are there and the officers are impatient for their cargoes. The men are there and anxious to work, but the combine is not moved to action commen< surate with the occasion, and the end is far aw: | BENT WAR ON THE FRONT Captain Goodall Talks on the Subject of Dockage and Tolls. SPACES USED BY BIG FIRMS, Small Stands and Coal-Hoppers Must Hereafter Pay for Wharf Privileges. vying tolls upon Oregon and Washi ton wheat and flour landed at sections 1 and 2 of the seawall was considered. torrn board, e as an opinion that inasmuch as California grain produets were admitted | free of toll over these wharves, the com- mission couid not well discriminate against the importations of other States, and that it would be an infringement upon the right of Congress to regulate commerce. President Colnon proposed to charge tolls upon all shippers irrespective of State at the sections named. The mat- ter was continued until next meeting. In response to a request for the attend- ance of coalmen at the board to consider the question of raising the rents of coal- bunkers on the city fronta number of the | representatives of the firms were present. Captain Charles Goodall made a statement against the proposed rent increase and said that San ~Francisco was already charging one-third more than New York jor dock privileges. He also stated that the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, which he represented, was already paying for their coal business as much as they could stand. He intimated that the pro- posed action of the board was unjust and not proportional to the volume of the firm’s business. < He was informed that it was only the desire to regulate the rentals in accordance with the volume of individual business done by the people along the wharves, and no discrimination against any one was thought of. “The law on the question,” said President Colnon, “requires that all wharf privileges must be let to the highest bidder, yet, for some reason, that law has not been complied with.” ““You are evidently not well posted in re- gard to the affairs along our vicinity,” said Captain Goodall, returning to hisargument that his company was being discriminated against in the proposed change. ““Hold on, captain,” interrupted Presi- dent Colnon, ‘‘you pay_rent for only the north side of Broadway No. 1, yet you use two wharves and the bulkhead, and by so doing you get a large wharfage free, and you exercise all the privileges of owner- ship there, saying who shall and who shall not drive'or go there. You see, captain, I am better posted than you imagined. I think you should pay 40 per cent more rent than you do at present.” This aroused the ire of the doughty coast steamship captain, and his retort was tem- pestuous. : President Colnon answered that the wharves must be made seli-supporting and shippers must be taxed in proportion to their business. “I know of no way to equalize matters between your com] nyd captain, and the Stockton steamers,” sal Mr. Colnon, “which can only afford a low rental, than by—" SR “Lowering my rent to theirs,” quickly interrupted the witty captain. The board continued further discussion of the matter until next meetin, The present wharf space nnfi'nnulu of | ' some of the large corporationson the water ont are as follows: The Pacific Mail uses space 1100 feet in length and 100 wide, takes &ll dockage and tolls, makes its own Tepairs and pays $1800 per month. The Oregon Railway and Transportation Company at Spear street uses a wharf about 600 ieet long and 120 feet wide, pays for no re- | pairs, but pays for dockages and tolls and a | Tent of $125 per month. ord, the legal adviser of the | | which he Oceanic Steamship Company at Fol >. 1 pays dockage and tolls and s rent of per month. The Pacific Coast Steamship Company uses the two wharves of Broadway, sheds, berth ces. pays tolls and dockige, but not for for $150 per month. uir Coal Company uses 338 linear and pays $225 per month. m 150 The Ro: and pays $225 rent. President Coinon stated yesterday that the cigar and other stands on the wharves have been paying nothing for the privilege and it was being considered by the board that a small rental should be charged for those places; also that the coal-hoppers occupy the wharves would be charged a rent. These contrivances are patented and the owner charges for their use, yet pays the State nofi:ing for the ege of working on the docks. In where the wharf is assigned to cer- tain persons these hoppers will not be charged a rental REMENBER BURKER HLL The Anniversary of the Battle | to Be Suitably Com- memorated. Joaquin Miller Will Take Part, and Patriotic Addresses Will Be Delivered. The Bunker Hill Association met last evening, William G. Badger presiding. A communication was read from D. T. Sullivan, Chief Engineer of the Fire De- partment, stating that he would fling all flags to the breeze under his control. A letter was also read from Brigadier- General Forsyth, dated June 10, stating that fitting ceremony and display, as well as salutes, will be ordered from the Pre- sidio, Alcatraz Island and from all forts in the harbor on June 17. Owing to the fact that every means was being used by the managers of the Santa Cruz fiesta to secure the services of Joaquin Miller for poet, many congratula- tions were expressed when a letter was read from Joaquin Miller, dated June 11, 1895, stating that he would be present to take his part in _the Bunker Hill celebra- tion at GYenwmd, having sent his regrets to the Santa Cruz fiesta committee. 5 Patriotic remarks will be made in addi- tion to the regular orator of the day, Rev. C. 0. Brown, by Professor Xbenezer Knowltongffl:iagity, and also Rev. Mrs. Wilkes of Oakland. It was announced that Joseph D. Red- ding has given his consent and will ar- range for a grand patriotic musical pro- gramme for Sunday at Golden Gate Park. The committee on transportation re- ported that owing to the at demand for tickets, the two special trains will not stop at San Jose, but arrangements have been made to carry them on the regular train. The committee on decoration reported that every means were being taken to have the City ‘f'ayly decorated with flags, re- quests and notices haying been sent in every possible direction. After the enrollment of some new mem- bers the meeting adjourned. ———————— There were 17,864,714 bunches of bananas consumed in the United States last year. Jamacia, Cuba, Honduras and Colombia supply most of the fruit. Itis within the easy memory of people of middle age when a banana was a great rarity. d Coal Compuny uses 563 feet | | 'POTRERD AND THE SOUTH, Death of Henry Lehrke, a Pros- | perous Old Pioneer and Nimrod. HE DEFEATED THE RAILROAD. Had Only $2 50 When He Crossed the Plains—HIs Estate Worth $50,000. . The death of Henry Lehrke, a well- | known and prosperous pioneer of the | Potrero, occurred at his home on the cor- ner of Mariposa and Minnesota streets, night before last. He was accustomed every year to spend | a period of recreation in hunting and fish- | ing during the spring with his friend, John | L. Koster, at the latter’s ranch, near Boulder Creek. Last April he accepted | Mr. Koster’s invitation and went there for | |& three days’ visit. On the 9th of that | | month he took a stroll around with his host, and they proceeded to burn some | "Iv. \ \ Uil Henry Lehrke. rubbish. Mr. Lehrke attempted to hurl a heavy log into the fire and ruptured a blood vessel in his right lung by the effort. This laid him up at Koster’s place for three weeks with a bad hemorrhage, but at the end of that time he felt well enough to come home. ‘When he arrived the hemorrhage started again and he was confined to his bed until the day before yesterday. Then, feeling pretty well, he got upand went down- stairs to his store. To all appearances he was well. He ate a good supper in the evening, but at 8:30 the hemorrhage began once more, and Dr. Wemple's efforts to save him were this time unsuc- cessful. ‘When he settled at the Potrero on April 10, 1884, the water was close up to his place, three-masted schooners frequently anchored in Mission Bay, and the only communication with the City proper was by a_ferry at Third street. e started a hotel, but beingdbumod out the first year he commenced his grocery business, which he gradually built up until he | Southern Pacific people and San Francisco | paving | of generating engines ready for the Bry- | which is to be held at Eighth and Fol- | president; Miss McCarthy, secretary; Mrs. amassed an estate worth about $50,000. His new store took the place of the old one five years ago. Once he had a legal contest with the Bridge Company over the grading and | of Kentucky street, which ke won. | It was not that he was opposed to the im- provement, but he thought he was un- justly assessed, considering that his prop- eri;y was two blocks away. or two terms he was a member of the lower house in the Legislature during pio- neer days. He was for a long time receiver in Golden West Lodge No. 264, A. 0. U. W., and was also a_member of California Lodge No. 1, I. 0. O. F., the Turn Verein Vorwaerts and a local German_social or- ganization. Deceased wasanative of Han- over, Germany, 63 years of age, and leaves a widow—his second wife—and a family of four grown-up sons and one daughter. Contractors have Lvedg\m excavating for the new parochial residence at St. Teresa’s Church and expect to have their task fin- ished in a week. The contract for the building will be let soon. The Union Iron Works has the first set ant-street power-house. A. B. Maguire, George Raabe, H. F. Wynne, Joseph Kelly, Lionel Samuels, W. F. McEwen and John®Rafferty are arrang- ing a good programme for the grand rally of all the Folsom-street improvement clubs | soms streets Monday evening. A namber of the Mission ladies have or- | ganized the Alpha Cycling Club, with Mrs. Keller, president; Miss A. Wynne, vice- A. Pendergast' treasurer; Mrs. H. Wynne, captain; Mrs. Smith, firstlieutenant, and Mrs. Yocum, second lieutenant. The club will take a run out to the Presidio Sunday. Several of the schools in the Mission dis- trict are very enthusiastic in their Fourth of July preparations. The James Lick Grammar School will have a float. The South San Francisco Primary School will also turn out. AITKEN ISJUNEHAIEU. M. M. Foote’s Charges of Un- professional Conduct Not Sustained. Report Submitted by the Grievance Committee of the San Francisco Bar Association. The charges of unprofessional conduct in a case now pending in the Superior Court against Judge John R. Aitken, re- cently laid before the Bar Association by M. M. Koote, have been investigated by that body, with the result that Judge Aitken is’completely exonerated. Relative to the matter in question the finevnnce committee of the Bar Association as submitted the following report: WHEREAS, The committee on grievances of the Bar Association of Ban Francisco hasin- vestigated the professional conduct of John R. Aftken in his relation to the action of F. 0. Robbins vs. A. Haskins (No. 50289), now pending in the Superior'Court oi the City and County of San Francisco, and from such inyes- tigation the committee finds that said Aitken did not violate the provisions of the Penal Code, or was not in any sense guilty of unpro- fessional conduct as an attorney and counsel- Jor at law in said action, as charged by M. M. Foote. Now therefore it is Resolved, That said charges are groundless, and said John R. Aitken should be and heis hereby exonerated from each and all thereof. E. R. Taylor, A. L. Rhodes, Warren Gregory, W. J. Herrin—Committee. ————————— A number of firm representatives appeared before the Harbor Commissioners yesterday and objected to the Eropnned increase of wharf rents, stating that they were now paying all the traffic would pear.” It is the intention of the board to place a rental upon all space used along the city front. S —————— Nearly half of the farms in the United States are mortgaged. AN UNDERGROUND SYSTEM Electricians Are Inspecting a New Electric Railway System. INVENTED BY C. M. BRIDGES. A Model Has Been Placed on Exhi~ bitlon at the History Bullding. | An exhibition has just been opened on | | the top floor of the Hist®ry building which | tory under Mr. Carothers’ supervision is a good many electricians and people inter- ested in streetcars are examining with in- terest. It is a model for an underground elec- | tric railroad, and consists of a track about 120 feet long, with curves and up and down grades, over which a little car speeds rap- idly when set in motion. The exterior of the track resembles a cable railroad, but the interior arrangement is widely diifer- ent. At intervals under the track are stationary rollers, which a long metal rod under the car raises in passing, the rod being long enough to reach from roller to roller. This bar is flexible and accommo- dates 1tself to the shape of the track on the up and down grades. The inventor, C. M. Bridges, asserts that Feed Box. the conduit employed in cable practice can be utilized in putting in his underground electric plant, and that the expense of adopting it, where cable-cars are already in use, would be trifling compared to the cost of constructing an overhead electric sys- tem. Inexplaining the invention yester- day he said: The feeder wires are carried in iron or terra gotta pipes laid between the tracks. These feeder pipes are tapped at intervals of thirty feet, where they feed into a cut-out box, simi- 1ar to that used on a cable-road for the puileys. In these boxes, which are thoroughly insulated from the ground by means of micanite plates, are placed cut-outs, fuses, blow-magnets tll:a contrivance which makes connection with the car. A sliding contact, similar to a cable-grip, runs in the slot, and as used to make connec- tion with a roller which protrudes from the cut-out boxes and which is cut into circult only when the car is at that particular point, thereby making connection with the car, and which is immediately cut out again as soon as the car leaves that point. The inventor indicated the long, flexible rod beneath the car, which lifted up the protruding rollers in passing. “The advantage of this system is that there is no current on except when the car is in contact with the rollers an”, as elec- tricians know, this does away with troubles from ‘grounds’ and other causes. Besides, where the conduit of a cable road is already laid this system can be installed without interfering in any way with the traffic.”” T.'S. Fanning, who is co-patentee with €. M. Bridges in the Bridges underground electric railway system, explained the ease with which any ‘of the feeding-boxes can be replaced if one of them does not perform | the functions required of it. He illustrated | his_statement by taking up: one of the | feeding-boxes of ‘the model railroad and | showing the simplicity of its construction. | Another advantage Mr. Fanning put forth in favor of an underground electric rail- | road is that it cannot be affected by light- | ning or kindred causes. C. M. Bridges said: “This is the first un- derground electric system that has been worked successfully and a number of electricians bave indorsed it. Among them [ may name+Professor A, L. Vander Naillen and F. Hoffmeister of the Pacific Electrical Works."” | . A movement is on foot to take the inyen- tion to France, as some French capitalists | are interested 1n it. A NEW BAGGAGE AGENT. T. Carothers Appointed General Agent of the Coast System. J. T. Carothers was yesterday appointed | general baggage agent of the Southern | Pacific Company in this City. The terri- 1 | | Lo, known as the Pacific system, which in- | cludes the company’s roads in California, Oregon and Nevada. The appointment was made to fill the vacancy caused by the death of C. L. Crab- tree, who was general baggage agent of the Pacific railroads for many years. Mr. Carothers was station baggagemasterat the San Francisco ferries depot for a number of years and enjoyed popularity among all who had business transactions with his office. Tt isflmuiht likely that the change will result in the introduction of new methods in bandling baggag EUREKA'S NEW RAILROAD To Connect With the Northern Pacific Coast at Grant’s Pass. A Subsidy of $60,000 Has Been Raised and the Necessary Rights of Way Are Secured. Eureka will soon have direct railway communication with San Francisco. A that city with the terminus of the North- ern Pacific Coast Railroad at Grant’s Pass. A bonus for the construction of the road has been raised and the rights of way have already been secured. ““The chief drawback to the development of Eureka’s resources,” said Frank N. Page, a merchant and leading business man of that city, yesterday, ‘“‘has been the lack of railway communication with the outside world. We have a local road seventy- five; miles long, which connects us with the interior, but heretofore our only outlet has been by steamer. The northern terminus of the North Pacific Coast road is within fifty miles of our city, but the way is a hgrd one for rail- road bnildini. To meet the difficulties, however, we have raised a cash bonus of $60,000 and secured all the necessary rights of way and terminal facilities, and work on the road will begin at once. “Business in Kureka? It has been rather dull in lumber, but you must know we have the finest dairy country in the State, the value of our output being second only to that of Marin County. So eneral business has not sufiered? We ave, too, in Humboldt Bay, one of the finest harbors in the State. The Govern- ment jetty, for which $2,500,000 was ap- propriated, is under construction and the water in the harbor has deepened from fifteen to thirty feet within a year. We have all the deep-water ships at our doors now and next season we will accommodate the cruisers.” short line is to be built at once connecting | AN INDUSTRY IMPAIRED, Unfortunate Effect of the New Fish and Game Law in Del Norte. THE VIEWS OF R. W. MILLER. Salmon Cannerles With an Annuat Output of $60,000 Forced to Shut Down. Del Norte County is suffering to the ex- tent of from $50,000 to $60,000 a year from the effects of the new fish and game law | passed by the last Legislature. It is likely | that an attempt will be made at the next | session of the Legislature to have the iaw | repealed. | “In the riversof our county,” said At- | torney R. W. Miller of Crescent City last night, “the salmon run is_peculiar in that it occurs in months in which they do not appear in any other streams in the State. | The run occurs, too, only in those odd | months, and at other times not a fish is | obtainable. “We have in the county two canneries, | of which the entire business is confined to canning salmon. By some oversight on | the part of those who framed the new law, | the close season under its provisions in- | cludes all the months and the only | months during which the fish is to be seen in our waters and for that reason the can- neries have been forced to shut down. “The value of the output of the canneries has been, at the least calculation, from $50.000 to $60,000 a year. They have em- | ployed hundreds of men and women, who must now seek employment in other lines of business, and the result has been a de- | cided blow to the working people and to | trade generally.” | Nearly all the glass eyes used in the world | are made in Thuringia, Germany. e ion Soes May feel all right till you take a walk; then they pinch, soles are stiff, tacks and thread inside prick and gall the feet. Squeak, squeak,—how much noise they make! Why endure these ills? Goodyear Welt Shoes Make walking a pleasure,— never squeak, no tacks, flexible soles. X Your dealer has them, 17 Goodyear Welts are LEATHER SHOES — not rubber. 1)