The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 29, 1899, Page 24

24 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 1899. - — TRYING TO MAKE SAN FRANCISCO ONE OF THE FINEST CITIES IN THE WORLD. Officers and Directors EXDFCSé Tfieir% Great Work. Done by the Merchants’ Association Since Its Organization and What It Proposes to Do. Views as to the Best Way of Im- proving and Beautifuing the Citu. HE Merchants’ Association was born April 5, 1894, and is there- fore less than five years old. But it has never had any childhood. 1t sprang full grow. and thor- equipped for its arduous task. There were just forty-seven business t that first meeting. They were ic and hopeful. But it m tempered by clear- and hope that hed out by repeated s=en very enth ent ined common sense, usis bit they piled up a founda- n which the association could rest secure. At the beginning they adopted certain cardinal principles. They determined first that party poli- tics should be strictly excluded from its proceedings. The influence of the association must be constantly exerted ures of public interest, but no t be taken in party politics or in mea part itic he Merchants' Assoclation must nog resort to personal abuse or vitupera- t .\\ henever possible, it must co-operate with public officials in carrying out all ces and laws for the comfort, health and prosperity of the ordir cor Its re ons with the press must ba of the most cordial and candid nature. In its reforms it must uuLHuAm l-a-.r above or far below the mark. The worst ons of municipalities are ordin- uid be handled and » an ordinary manner. tempting any change or ime ¢ the association must ascer- whether the proposed ible and the contemplated ion practicable. cardinal principles the mem- felt would ultimately mean suc- pr tain carefull WO acres said, ‘“Pooh! Ileffl}'m walk hand in hand in San \ants’ Association couldn’t ohed out cf existence. At the 4 members had ing the second b increased to 406 the end of the third recorded as regu- h anniversary ebrated with I and to-day the Association comprises over and active members. T ns that the association col- Jects in dues $1000 a month. Their ac- I the fraction of a balan her this fact nor their hip roll which has com- respect and gratitude of 1unit) because they do necessary , not dream them all day long. first earned their spurs by the stre of San Francisco. did it so well that even the " of the wiseacres did not s of thanks that ech- , dusty streets, badly swept without system or order, aricature abroad and »)n determined as its in- t this glaring evil an extremely low bid the awarded the contract to Association. The $80,- ed annually for cleaning quate to do the and thoroughly. Association, there- 000 by voluntary sub- from merchants and prop- This sum, added to the 2nabled the associa- ute the contract success- a period of eight months. al experiment proved so that plans and specifica- uating the system were ed and submitted to the The Board of Super- approved the system, and has dopted it. To-day the streets of San Francisco are swept and wed according to these specifica- and under the constant supervi- of the association. To venture into the streets is no longer a nge into a dust bath. This feat placed the assoclation in a determined niche in the body politic. It proved that this organization, com- posed entirely of members of busin , could not be overlooked. Its me employ in the aggregate at Jeast 15,000 persons and represent about half the assessed property in this city. Compar: vely speaking the Merchants’ Association is now numeri- cally stronger than any other commer- clal organization in the United Btates. Having proved their power for public good they did not rest on their laurels. They next aimed a timely and well- directed blow at the cobblestones. The street pavements have long been a municipal nuisance. We never mention them, even in whispers, outside of our boundarie A loyal San Franciscan may casually hint at an occasional fog, but to breathe of our antediluvian pavements taboos him as a traitor. All the sweeping in the world cannot make the cobblestones aught but an eyesore to the artistic and an irritant to corns. Under the law the city must keep ac- cepted stre only in needed repair. Any repavement must be provided by the adjacent property owners. The Merchants’ Assoclation, by strenuous efforts, finally succeeded in securing sufficient voluntary subscriptions from property owners to repave some of the principal blocks of the city. The smooth modern pavement that now makes Market street a thorough- fare worthy of a progressive city is due entirely to the efforts of the Merchants' Association. The next nuisance upon which the association frowned was municipal moonlight. Turning out the city lights on calendar moonlight benefited no one gave the footpad. As the city was bound to this system by a two years’ contract nothing could be done speedily to make an official change. Fully realizing the benefit of a mod- ern method of public lighting, the Merchants’ Association resolved to give San Francisco another object lesson. Voluntary subscriptions therefore were again solicited for the placing of arc lights upon a few principal business streets. The idea at once became contagious and other streets asked the privilege of joining the movement. Subscriptions amounting to $15,000 were quickly gigned, and 228 powerful electric arc lights of 2000 candle power each were guspended along the center of the main thoroughfares of the city. This experiment has been so suc- cessful that this improved system of street lighting has now been perma- nently adopted by the municipaiity. Flectric lights will soon be strung throughout the city, and San Francis- co will be one of the best {lluminated cities in the United States. The adoption of the charter was greatly furthered by the Merchants sociation. I‘);‘ha su'pe} car transfer system has cles tions, sion been so perfected that a five-cent fare is now good for a ride from any one point in the city to almost any other point. A suitable site has been provided in this city for the Wilmerding School of Industrial Arts, and the association has worked for the successful establish- ment of the college of commerce of the University of California. Following are the views of the officers of the asso- ciation on the best ways to improve the city: i . . F. W. DOHRMANN—Now that the new charter is adopted it becomes the duty of those who worked and voted for it to see that the opportunities for im- proving our municipal conditions under it are fully taken advantage of. To my mind it is of little consequence %o this community who may be elected to fill the offices so long as they prove eompetent and honest. Yet I would OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS OF THE MERCHANTS favor the re-election of all who now hold offices if they perform their dutles during the present year satisfactorily. My reasons are: First—That duty well performed should always be appreciated and re- warded by re-election. Second—That ‘the experience gained during the present term is of value to the city and will enable them to give better service than inexperienced men could do. Third—That such officers are entitled to preference since the charter will cut short the term for which they were elected last fall. Outside of this and particularly for the new offices such as Board of Public Works and Civil Service Commission, I favor selection of perfectly compe- tent, honest and reliable men without regard to politics, as one of the prin- cipal purposes of the new charter is to take the municipal government out of party politics and thereby secure us a business management of the business affairs of our city. I favor the thorough study. of, full HHO4 0404340404 04040404040+ 040404040404 040404040+ 014 040 G440 P4 OPO L OL Lo b O o4 @ +o4 404 L d Ho$o+040404040404040404+OH 04 04040404040+ HIHIHIHO4OOIOH 4040404 0404040+ O40+04 0 404 preparation for and careful execution of.the civil service measure provided in the charter. This feature, more than anything else in it, will bring about a pure, effective municipal administra- tion. I advise that the Merchants’ Assocla- tion appoint committees of competent men, familiar with our conditions and surroundings, to study the material wants of our city, to meet together and discuss the recommendations of the separate committees and then prepare a municipal programme as to sewers, streets, hospitals, public buildings, schools, fire -and other protection and other public necessities, figuring vp probable cost, estimate our resources and income, and what can be covered by taxation or what should be paid for by bonding, and thus prepare an ecQs nomical but progressive plan for mak- ing our city an economical, well-gov- erned, modern, progressive community. Such a platform, together with the recommendations of Mrs. Hearst’s com- mittee for beautifying the city, so far as they can be financially and practi- cally carried out, would give us a muni- cipal policy which once approved and adopted by the people should be con- stantly followed by our Boards of Su- pervisors and other officers for years to come and until new Issues arise which require changes and additions. If this is done I belleve San Francisco will enter upon an era of growth, im- provements and prosperity beyond the expectation of its most patriotic well- wishers and inhabitants, sl 0. A. S. BALDWIN—First—Make City Hall avenue 300 feet wide. Do this by condemning 100 feet of the Market street frontage on each side of the ave- nue and convert each piece into a small gof‘:lrk. This will cost probably $750,- Second—Extend the park panhandle to Market street and Van Ness avenue and acquire the seven blocks north of the park between Thirteenth and Four- teenth avenues, as already proposed by the Mayor and Supervisors, at a cost perhaps of $3,600,000. Third—Construct new_school build- ings and put those now bullt in a good and sanitary condition; allow about $750,000. Fourth—Condemn the lands owned by the Sutro estate which are planted in trees, commencing just south of the Af- fillated Colleges and extending to In- gleside. Construct roads and maintain the property as a forest park. I pre- sume the area would be abdut 800 acres and imagine the value would not exceed $1,500,000. Fifth—Construct one main sewer from Ocean View to the bay, to drain about 2000 acres, at a cost of about $400,000. Sixth—Establish a municipal lighting plant, as proposed by the Supervisors. This probably would not involve an outlay of more than $600,000. Making a total of about $7,600,000. ‘With another million dollars added for the improvement of the new parks and, drives, San Francisco could be made one of the most attractive cities in the world. The new charter should be amended as to the provision relat- ing to parks and boulevards. The max- imum appropriation allowed under it is 7 cents on each hundred dollars. This would only produce about $250,000 per annum, about one-half ¢f what the an- nual appropriation should be. « s e WALLACE BRADFORD—I should llke to see this city one of the most beautiful ones in the world. With our olimate and natural advantages there is no reason why it should not be. If the park be extended to Van Ness ave- nue and a boulevard made of that ( o Sy A BAaLDwwiN street we will then have a beautiful driveway that the citizens will be proud of. The Merchants’ Association will certainly not leave a stone unturned to make this not only the Queen City of the Golden State, but one that can fa- vorably compare to any other in the world. Believing that San Francisco is just beginning a decade of prosperity which will astonish the people of our entire .country, and being an enthusiastic pe- liever in the idea that San Francisco is destined to be the second largest city in, the United States, I believe that when the new. charter comes into oper- ation our citizens should vote for not less than $100,000,000 bonds to be used in the immediate improvement of our city. * e Te CHARLES BUNDSCHU — Every honest effort to invigorate and purify the political and social atmosphere of municipal life should have the support ©of every well meaning citizen of the entire State. Progress and prosperity largely depend on the welfare, advance- BUNDscHU... From a Small Beginning the Associa- tion Has Become the Most Powerful Organization for Municipal Welfare, ment and economical administration of communities ‘in cities and in countles. Civic pride and the ennobling inspira- tion of responsible citizenship are in- dispensable foundations of progressive cities. & . MARSHAL HALE—The Merchants’ Assoclation of San Francisco has done a great deal toward developing our city. It has aided the city government in many ways. But there is a greater field for us. The Merchants’ Associa- tions of New York and Chicago have reached out to bring trade to their re- spective cities. The future development of the Hawaiian Islands and the Philip- pines will open great possibilities whether we hold our new possessions or not. If we can turn the tide of trade toward San Francisco and develop the commerce of the Pacific Ocean with the United States through the Golden Gate we will accomplish a great thing. Let us make San Francisco the center of JosEPH, BRITTOMN. —_— ASSOCIATION. the Pacific Ocean trade as New York Is the center of the Atlantic Ocean trade. We can then develop a city second only to New York. CREP A GEORGE LIEBES—The new charter limits the borrowing capacity of the city to fifteen (15) per cent of the as- sessed valuation of the property; con- sequently the necessity of discreet and systematic expenditures of all money is apparent. Before any municipal improvement is commenced it should be well consid- ered as to the part it shall fill as to- ‘ward the completed whole. If we have no programme or plan to start with, we are liable to find a most hodge-podge arrangement at the completion of any individual improvement, hence the first necessity of our city is to decide upon all the improvements needed, and then to select that which is needed most, that it may be first_accgmpllshed. * JOSEPH D. GRANT—Every seaside city and town in Europe that sprinkles the streets at all uses sea water for Salt water does not dry ly as fresh water. It binds the dirt together between the paving stones, so that no loose dirt is raised by the wind. It absorbs m ure from the air dur- ing the night, so that in the morning the street has the appearance of being freshly watered. No injurious effects have been no- ticed on the cements and metals in the sewers, Salt water has no detrimental effect on good bituminous vavement. Why, then, should not the city of San Francisco use salt water for sprinkling the streets? il ) HUGO ROTHSCHILD— While the Merchants’ Association does not lose sight of the immediate wants and im- provements desired to make our city what it should be and what it certainly will be it also looks forward to the future. One of the main ambitions ac- cording to my idea of this common- wealth should be the acquisition of our own gas and electric plants and of water works of sufficient capacity for all purposes for a large city. As water is necessary for the existence of every living being the dispensing of the same should, according to my idea, not be in the hands of any firm or corporation. But I firmly hold it is the duty of the city to have its own water works and to supply the people of San Fran- cisco with water at actual cost price. 8 b D. V. KELLY—The energies that have given San Francisco a new char- ter must not be allowed to slumber, The new charter is not automatic. It simply provides the governmental ma- chinery. We must supply the full steam and direction; of these direction is the most potent for results. Capa- ble direction can only be had from capable officials. Let the powerful in- fluence of the men who simply vote make itself felt in the future of our city’s affairs. Force the boss element out of municipal elections and insist upon the leaders of all political parties coming together and nominating capa- ble officials to inaugurate the new charter and direct the city’s business. One single non-partisan ticket that is purely representative will do this better than ten party tickets of more or less representation. Give the charter a fair start. Let there be but one ticket for the first election under the charter. O JOHEN E. QUINN—It {8 now four weeks since the Legislature assembled at Sacramento, and every day adds to its disgrace in its present Senatorial squabble. The press is teeming with charges of corruption and every inter- est of the public is neglected. Is it not time for our citizens to arouse them- gclves and save the State from further disgrace? Let there be mass meetings in every town In the State and demand that a decent regard for public opinion shall prevail. There are plenty of good men, like Irving M. Scott, in the party, who would be an honor to the State, and Who would have sufficlent influence at ‘Washington to secure proper legislation * for our State, which she sadly needs. Surely we have tried long enough to fit third class men into first class positions to satisfy ourselves that it does not pay. o iy W. R. SHERWOOD—A belt railway 1s an urgent necessity for San Fran- clsco—the bringing of rail and ship- ping together. Not only can the whole- sale houses do business better and cheaper, but this will be a better center for distributing the products of the whole Pacific Coast. Nearly all pro- gressive cities have belt railways. The wonderful growth of Antwerp, equally that of the most progressive American city, can be attributed to its belt rail- way. I am in favor of the present bill before the Legislature to extend the seawall south of Mission street so that the building of the belt railway need not be delayed. At least we should at once have a temporary one along the water front. In connection with this I belleve harbor charges, such as pilot- ing, etc.,, should be greatly reduced. ‘We should make this the cheapest port on the coast for shipping. ® e J. RICHARD FREUD—An organio “w {s not the fleeting issue of the day. senerally it lives as the basic policy of overnment for a century. The con- itution of the United States has erved the republic faithfully for over @& hundred years. The consolidation act, with all its defects, has ruled San Francisco nearly a half century. The new charter, to rise with the dawn of the twentieth century, in all probabil- ity will outlive the present generation. Buch is the momentous consequences of the adoption of an organic law. It is safe, therefore, to assert that the highest and greatest achievement of the Merchants’ Assoclation is the new charter of San. Francisco. The four previous fruitless attempts to se- cure a municipal charter made it ap- pear almost a forlorn cause. With un- daunted faith in the common intelli- gence of the people, the customary method of law making was reversed. The Merchants’ Association called upon the citizens of San Francisco to create es well as ratify the charter. Its three cardinal principles of home rule, eco- pomical administration and civil ser- vice are the natural product of the heart and brain of the voters of the city. As long as this metropolis shall Test upon these cornerstones of civic progress the Merchants’ Association will be revered-for its heroic struggle n behalf of good government. CEe JOSEPH BRITTON—San Francisco has through long years run under a overnment that was good when ormed by the enactment of the con- solidation act, but when the new con- stitution was made had become de- moralized by acts of the Legislature procured by political spollsmen. The framers of the new constitution, seeing this drift of legislative acts to make a prey of San Francisco, put a clause in the ccastitution giving us the right to frame a charter for our self-govern- ment. This advantage is now extended to almost all cities of any size. We have been fighting long to avail ourselves of this privilege, and at last, after sev- eral failures, have succeeded in adopt- ing a charter which sweeps out of ex- istence all those laws and customs by which bosses live. Still we have not killed the bosses, nor can we. Vice al- ways lves in large communities and will live here; but by vigilance and an expenditure of a like energy that won the charter San Francisco will have a great and noble government, and her people will rlse.to a high political plane. Capr ROLLA V. WATT—San Francisco needs clean streets, sprinkled with salt water, removal of all signs extending over the sidewalk, repaving of all blocks now paved with cobblestones, all electric light, telephone and other wires placed underground; the planting of trees in the residence section, the improvement of Buena Vista and other parks, a cheap and decent transporta- tion system (carryalls, carriages and cabs) in Golden Gate Park and & per- fect sanitary system. All these and a thousand other things are within our reach if the city can have a clean, eco- nomical and businesslike administra- tion of its affairs.