The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 18, 1900, Page 23

:oo¢¢¢¢+¢¢¢¢ooo¢4ooo¢+o: THETHELELSITICCTITIETIT - + 3 + + : : @ a : : + CEEEI L LI I r LA E A e L E A A4, 0 :40040000~oy¢¢9¢0009000: SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1900. - SUPERVISORS WILL SUPPRESS LOCAL TELEPHONE OUTRAGES Steps to Be Taken Immediately to Amend the Charter and Remedv the Evil. Citizens Will Be Calléd Upon to Give the City Authorities Power to Supervise and Regulate s cit d in the to the city authorities an by the Board of Supervisors. The Supc wor . th ter to give the bo | shortly be intr , therefo r McCart | then be submit nest de a dment becomes y conceded that the mat- n up at once and that s e held. Some of red to belteve thut of the last two years have amendment no one that the g Valley ts numerous profitab e power companies are to hedged in by legislation a large degree helr earning nd gives the con- er of their wares a fair chance of get- ting value received for hs cash donations. It with the Pa- f y. That organi- to no one save its profits or for its ex- however. is otherwise its law there is no limit to the may practice nor does the recognize any limit. Under the ns it may go along in the charging a dif- te for ever: omer and man- Jating its nickel-in-the-slot machines such a manner that they become sta- ary pickpockets in the home of every who is unfortunate enough to need t was thought at first that the charter carried a provision which would at least mitigate these conditions; but after a careful study of the city’s new municipal jaw Supervisor Willlam M. McCarthy dis- covered that although gas, electric and ter companies come within the super- vision and direction of the Board of Su- pervisors, the telephone company does not. Bach year the other corporations are compelled to appear before the board with statements of thelr earnings and ex- penses, in order that the board may fix & reasonable minimum rate which they may charge for their commodities. Strange to say, however, the telephone company is not amenable to these pro- visions. Supervisor McCarthy proposes to place the telephone company in the same cate- gory as the others. For weeks he has w from the grave in- and people of ity of the Supervisor determined close e fares 1a qisitive pro- | the Monopoly. ors have determined that the telephone monop- shall not profit by the crafty scheme which charter convention to evade respon- d regulation of its rates and tariffs s have determined, under the leadership of Su- at steps shall be taken at once to ard the right to fix telephone rates. oduced and will without doubt be ted to the people for their indorse- SUPERVISOR McCARTHY. Supervisor McCarthy has made a close study of the question of telephone fares in American citles. He is equipped with facts and fig- ures to prove the tremendous ex- tortion of the local company, and he is preparing an order prov for an amendment to the charter which he will present to the board. L0 STD 00004 PO GO0 GO B0 COIY SO O S0 SO0 GO0 IO TP o B e ] @03 060 SO GO 6O PGS OO DOGHLIY SO0 @ o0 pany is almost if not quite the largest of its kind in America; also that its tolls are inced that the telephone-using pub- lic of San Francisco is the victim of one of the most out disgraced a municipal government, and | shortly he will attempt so to amend the charter that Mr. Sabin’s company will be | governed by the same law that governs the other corporations. He is having pre- pared at the present time the resolution carrying the necessary amendment, and | will have it ready for submission to the board within the next ten days. the coming general election or at a spectal election called for the purpose before that time. v idea is” sald Mr | speaking of his project yesterday, “to place the telephone company, with the other local monopolies, under the super- vision of the Board of Supervisors and McCarthy, in the charter to give the power fo tho Su- pervisors over the telephone company? Certainly. I have a paper to that intent in my pocket that I wished to introduce last Monday, but the time passed before I had the opportunity. I am in favor of such an amendment. I would vote for it. Supervisor Tobin—The local govern- | ment should most decidedly have the right phone | been studving closely the telephone situa- tion and has made many startling discov- | feries. He has learned that the local com- 100 per cent higher than others. He | ageous cinches that ever | l If the board adopts it—and there is small doubt that it will—the amendment - | will next go before the people either at | then establish a flat rate for telephone | | service, which will assure a reasonable profit to the company and protection for the patrons against the present system of extortion. Five or six per cent at the | most is a fair profit for a corporation of this sort. To give you an idea of what its profits must be—the Metropolitan Com- ; of New York Invested $00,000 in its plant, and in five years its net profits | amounted to $2,840,00. Compared | the local telephone company, the gas and | water companies are novices in the art of cinching patrons. pany charged an annual rate of $60 on all telephones—about half the rate charged by the Pacific Company. You may draw from that what its profits foot up. I pro- P a remedy that the charter be led, and I will soon offer t6 the board a-resolution embodying the neces- sary amendment. I am confident it will meet with little if any opposition.” Seventeen of the eighteen Supervisors were seen yesterday and nearly all of them agreed with Mr. McCarthy that an r te remedy is necessary and that 1 he proposed seemed most feas- In fact, Mr. McCarthy's amendment ible bids fair to be popular with about every one save Mr members of t selves as follows: Supervisor Boxton—I am in favor of an amendment to the charter to give the upervisors the power to regulate the tel- rates. 1 would vote for such an ent. and T am confident that most other Supervisors feel the same Sabin. e board Concerning it the declared them- amez of the way Supervisor Duboce—Yes, I think that the telephone compary ought to ic as much subject to regulation as are the water, zas and other corporations that use the streets and give public service. I would vote for an amendment to tHe char- ter o give the Supervisors the necessary | power. | Bupervisor Jennings—T cannot say | off-hand whether 1 would vote to amend | the charter to give the regulation of the telephone to the Supervisors; but I see no reason why all the corporations that have public privileges and give public service shovld not be subject to the same degree of regulation by the Supervisors. Supervisor Booth—I am in favor of amending the charter to make the tele- phone company subject to regulation by the Supervisors. I would certsinly vote for an amendment to effect that. Supervisor Reed—The charter needs amendment to give the Supervisors the same degree of control over the telephone that they now have in reference to the other semi-public corporations that use the streets. The Call had an excellent edi- torial on the subject. 1 will vote for the amendment suggested, but I belleve that the charter cannot be amended for two years. Supervisor Fontana—I would have to | give the mpatter of amending the charter to bring the teleplone service under reg- ulation by the Supervisors some thought, for I have never considered the matter. T Jo not cere to fay anything mo-e about the matter until I kave thougit it over. Supervisor d’Ancona—Would I amend I The Metropolitan Com- | with | § to regulate the tolls of any corporation that charges so exorbitantly as the tele- corporation. It 1is, of course, a auestion of law, but If we cannot do it there should be a commission, such as the Bank Commission, to attend to them. I am not sure as to how the charter can be amended so as to cover this appare: defect Supervisor Curtis — The charter should certainly contain a clause giving the Supervisors the power to regulate all corporations that supply public water, telephone and similar ould all-be treated aliks. I &m not prepared to say just now how we shculd go about the task. Supervisor Helms—Telephone corpor- ations should have no more privileges than other corporations. I thought there was a clause in the charter that gave us the right to regulate telephones. If it be missing, it should certainly be put in as fast as possible. I do not know whather it would be advisable to hold another spe- cial election at this time. Supervisor Connor—I have not given the matter any thought, but while I do rot see why there should be any discrim- ination between corporations I do not think it advisable to hold a special election at this time, when we are bankrupt. If we should vote bonds to make up the de- ficiency in the city's income perhaps we could at the same time pass upon an amendment to the charter placing tele- phone companies under our control. Supervisor Dwyver—I cannot see why telephone companies should not be sub- ject to the same legislation as other cor- porations, but as I have not given the Soorfenfe lac. neck. you” and then the ready tears came ent's fear that for the girl that steps natural surroundings there is danger. more comfortable than she, that she could not gratify.” “I have joined the Bostonians,” fal Mrs. Barralllac gasped with fear. ‘When the interviewer sought Mrs. still laboring under the excitement AY CORLETTE and her mother are reconciled. Yesterday afternoon she called on Mrs. Barrail- Not many words passed between them. The mother stretched out her arms. There were murmured “Forgive’ and “God bless anger and bitterness was a thing of the past. When May Corlette makes her debut with the Bosto- nians in Oakland, a week from Monday night, the mother who so strenuously objected to her going on the stage will be there to witness her daughter's triumph. Mrs. Barraillac's objection to her daughter's devotion to music was based on an overscrupulous, simple, loving par- “Music brought May in contact with people who were she explained, that this glimpse of ease and luxury might give her tastes Mrs. Barraillac was not won over easily. Friday morn- ing, shortly after 6 o'clock, her little girl stole over to her home on Fulton street and roused her. said, “I have not slept a wink all night and I came over to see you before you got the morning paper.” ““What have you done?” sald the mother. again,” she said and May, heart-broken, wandered away. daughter had brought her. Her eyes were red and swollen. matter much thought I will not pronounce judgment at this time. Supervisor Maguire—I have not given the subject any thought and do not wish to express myself hastily. though, why all such corporations should not be treated alike. Supervisor Comte—There should be power vested in the Board of Supervisors to contral the propensities of such cor- porations as telephone companies. I un- derstand that the judiciary committee of the board of freeholders omitted the tele- phone company from supervision because of a bellef that such a clause would be fllegal. This can hardly be the case, for if it be right to regulate gas and water it surely cannot be wrong to attend to the telephone tompanes. | Supervisor Brandenstein—I doubt | the wisdom of leaving to any legislative body the regulation of concerns reqairing 50 much expert knowledge, but so long as | we are empowered to fix gas and water ates 1 cannot see why telephones and | similar utilities should not be included. It to all these things. I will not say off-hand ve the legal right to take the osed by Supervisor McCartly. Supervisor Sanderson—I do not care to express any opinion, for I have not looked into the matter at all. I am not | | tied to the telephone company nor to ary | other corporations, but I do not care to | give an opinlon off-hand. RELIEF IS DEMANDED. Special Election to Amend the Charter. The Federation of Mission Improvement Clubs has been quick to see the necessity for immediate consideration of the evil represented by the telephone monopoly and last night the following strong reso- lutions, addressed to the Board of Su- pervisors, were adopted: Resolved, That we hereby express our disap- proval of the policy of extortion practiced by the local telephone corporation, and we demand that the Board of Supervisors make regula- tions, if possible, under the charter, to force the managers of this insolent monopoly to give d extortionate methods of the Federation of Mis- rovement Clubs would recommend to the Supervisors that proVision be made to secure such. legislation by a special election; and fur- ther cover the illegal agers, I cannot see, |- was the purpose of the charter to attend | | The Mission Federation Asks for a | an honest return for the money tendered it by | the telephone-using public; further Resolved, belng aware of the lack of suitable le n in the charter that would | Resolved, That civic organizations and fair- minded citizens be requested to direct attention 1o other amendments to the charter that might | be sub the proposed special election. i MAY CORLETTE. cried. May fell upon her to thelr relief and sleep a wink._ musie. out and beyond her I can't. 'and I feared head. tion she sald: ‘‘Mother,” she red the girl. ‘Never speak to me Barraillac she was of the news her great diva. bilities of her daughter. “Ah, but she is a good, noble girl and must. has a grand voice.” message was sent to the daughter that 1s going on the stage, and the reconciliation is now complete. As for May herself, she has not yet entirely recovered from the surprise of Thursday,” when MacDonald asked her to joln his famous organizatton. “The first night,” she explained yesterday, “I did not Only to-day I am beginning to realize all that this may mean to me. Perhaps soon I will be able to have all I need and I am going to earn it all with my I am not making any preparations to go away. I have not the means to. make the best of it. I am going to study hard and work hard and hope to succeed.” Miss Corlette.has made no plans for the future. has never let her modest little self think further than the possibllity that one day she might be fortunate enough to get a position with an opera company. grand opera has never entered her unpretentious little When asked if she had any ambitions in that direc- ““Oh, if I only dared think of it!” Miss Corlette will sing in ‘“The Viceroy” on Monday, February 26, in' Oakland. On the 4th of March she will leave with the Bostonians for the East. satchel will now more than comfortably carry all the little girl's personal effects, it is more than probable that when she returns to us it will be maid and numberless saratogas and scrapbooks crammed with favorable notices, and all the other accessories of a “I shall never forgive May,” she said, “never.” Grad- “Don" * adlly, Bowevars sOEeT BAYS place-to o Hltats il et o CNINE ChAC el thial Wilkiqémis-ta: phaat”, she and pride and she began to question as to the future possi- “If I only dared hope,” she modestly sald. B e e o e i e e e W ITNESS WHO WILL PUNCTURE THE SYLVA-SIMPTON STORY Louis Dunand Relied Upon by Mrs. Craven to Prove the Sausalito Ceremony. HILE the forces engineering the Fair end of the Craven-Fair lit- igation are resting on their oars, apparently satlsfied that they have blown the opposition out of the water with the Simpton bomb- shell, Mrs. Craven's attorneys have not been idle and have prepared a few counter-sensations which they intend to spring in Judge Troutt’s court Monday morning. They are also getting the evi- dence together by which they expect to prove that the Marin Justice of the Peace told the truth when he made a deposition to the effect that he had performed the ceremony which made Senator Falr and Mrs. Craven man and wife and that he committed perjury when he subscribed to an affidavit in which he claimed he had fabricated in his first sworn statement. Among the important witnesses upon whom Mrs. Craven will rely to puncture holes in Simpton’'s latest story is Louis F. Dunand, formerly a resident of San Rafael, an attorney of prominence and a man who bears an enviable reputation among all who know him. Attorney Sylva in his early statements of the Simpton ceremony frequently made mention of a third party who was present when the Justice of the Peace gave out the infor- | mation that he had married Fair and Mr: Craven. Louis F. Dunand was that party His testimony will go to prove that many months previous to the time when it was charged that Mrs. Craven offered to pay Simpton and Sylva $10,000 to concoct the ceremony story Simpton had stated in Dunand's hearing and in the presence of Sylva that he possessed evidence that would be valuable to Mrs. Craven's side of the litigation, and finally volunteered the information that he had married the | millionaire and the woman who is fighting for a snare of his property. now It is expected that it will be shown by | the testimony of Dunand that that was the first Sylva knew of Simpton’s connec- tion with the affairs of Mrs. Craven and the late Senator Fair. This would be in direct contradiction of the statement of Sylva that the whole story was oulined to him by Mrs. Craven and that at her e e e e e e e e e e e o ot e 2 MAY CORLETTE'S MOTHER 1S RECONCILED 10 HER DAUGHTER'S OPERATIC CAREER L oy A e ey SToeg / “If she-should not succeed,” she She The upshot of it all was that a tender 1 shall just have to She Such a thing as Although a hand- as a famous contralto with a e O S L i Sl S o o S o R RO N T N T evidence of perjury and bribery | @RODEDILO POV GO THY 0TS Q ® o SO0 QoG GOt ooV 0 & L SO0 DO Qe 00 000 Do 40 OO DO L LOUIS F. DUNAND, formerly a resident of San Rafael, is one of the new witnesses discovered by Attorney Dunand, Mrs. Cr: n’s attorne: He is the mysterious “third party” spoken of by Sylva and Judge Simpton. Du- nand will testify that months be- fore the time when it is charged Mrs. Craven offered Simpton $10,00 3 to concoct the marriage ceremony story he (Simpton) stated that he had performed the marriage be- tween Fair and Mrs. Craven. | @0 LrogioRse DO STS0ON | request he went to Simpton and made him the offer of $10,000 to play the part that | had been planned for him by the alleged consplrators. Mr. Dunand is the attorney for one of the Consuls of a Central American repub- lic. He is at present in Central America, attending to some mining business In which he is interested, and Is expected to return to this city In the near future. The charges of bribery and perjury PR OOHT S O @ DHOS OPOPON S0 9Lk in the celebrated case are to be ifted to the bottom by the authorities District Attorney Byington had the whole matter presented to him yesterday by Attorneys with them that an offense had been com- art which are now forming such a prominent | Pence & Pence, and he agreed | District Attorney Byington, Satisfied Perjury Prevails, Will Take Steps to Have the Guilty Parties Punished. TTORNEY LOUIS F. DUNAND, a man of unquestioned integrity, is one of the latest witnesses upon whom Mrs. E Craven will rely to prove her claim to being the widow of the late James G. Fair. Dumand’s testimony will have a special bearing on the Sausalito ceremony and will go to substantiate the original story told by Justice Simpton. in The Call yesterday of the testimony that will be given for Mrs. Craven by B. F. Lamborn proved to be the sensation of the day. Yesterday the attention of the District Attorney The exclusive publication as called to the in the case and he has decided to take immediate steps to bring the matter before the Grand Jury. mitted and promised to put forth his Dest efforts to bring the guflty parties to jus- tice. The Grand Jury will be asked to investigate the charges, and aside from the action it may take warrants may be issued for several of the principals in the scandal. It was suggested to the District Attorney that he delay action in the cases until after the Fair trial, now in prog- ress, should be terminated, but he took a& view similar to that of Pence & Pence, that no time should be lost in putting a stop to the methods that are being prac- ticed in the Craven-Fair litigation. Whichever side s encouraging crime it i3 the intentlon of the authorities to have the guilty ones punished. The statement made by Ben ¥. Lam- born, the City Clerk of Alameda, pub- lished exclusively in The Call of yester- day, produced a sensation equally as great as Simpton's sudden change of heart. Lamborn was somewhat surprised that his story became public. He hastened to this side of the bay early yesterday morn- ing and at once sought an interview with Mrs. Craven’s attorneys. At the close of the conference his lips were sealed. When seen at his home in Alameda last night he refused positively to make any fur- ther statement concerning the case, dis- missing the matter with the assertion that when the proper time arrived he would tell ks whole story. Nowhere has the sensational develop- ments in the litigation aroused more ex- citement than in Sausalito, where Attor- ney Sylva and Justice Simpton reside. A detachment of detectives, acting in the interests of both sides of the iitigation, are posted around Sylva’s home and jsleuths greet every incoming trala and ['boat. | Simpton essayed to go around town yes- terday, but he was guarded by two Cur- | tin men. He states that this is a precau- tionary measure taken in view of the fact that he is being shadowed. The Judge, while en voring to assume an off-hand | manner, has been visibly affected by the | tension which has been placed upon him during the last few days. His face twitches Involuntarfly while he talks, and in a shaking hand he holds a cigar, which trom time to time he nervously chews. “I feel perfectly secure as to the oute come,” he said to a Call representative. “I have been acting in the interests of law and honesty and feel that my conduct should earn me the recognition of every | honest man." Sylva absolutely refused to discuss the | case or his connection with it. ERS | THE GREAT WORK BEGUN ‘NEW UNIVERSITY A THING OF | THE NEAR FUTURE. | Architect Benard Is Busy Adapting and Making Practical His Orig- inal Plans. The olans drawn by M. Benard, the tamous French architect, for the new California University, are to be simplified before the are built upon, and M. Benard llrl already at work in Paris upon the mod- ifled draft. Up to the time that ‘Archi- | tect Be d submitted his plans to the jury of architects he had not surveyed the ground upon which the bulldings were to be erected, ard because of this some | minor changes will prove necessary. His | scheme, as a totality, however, will be carried out, and the first building, the residence of the president of the univer- sit; will be begun during the present | year. ! 7 Mrs. Phebe Hearst, thanks to whose gen- | erosity the brilllant future of the Univer- sity of California is due, has issued to | the public a concise statement and his- | tory of the recent architectural contest | and, as well, a handsomely bound volume {in which are printed the plans of M. Be- nard and the most worthy of his com- petitors, together with a running descrip- | tion of them in the languages of those { who took part in the competition. As Mrs. Hearst says, it will take time and plenty of it to carry out the magnifi- cent plans which Benard has drawn, but at the same time she makes the signifi- cant announcement that the work will begun at once. M. Benard, in fact, prom- | 1808 to have his revised plans ready by October 1 of this year. The mining build- ing will be the second to be put in course of construction. The new buildings proposed number twenty-five, and according to the state- ment made by Mrs. Hearst, they will av- | erage in cost about $400,000 each. The to- tal cost, covering all, at a liberal esti- | mate, would not_exceed $15,000,000. As | planned now by Mrs. Hearst, the presi- | dent’s home, the mining bullding, the ad- | ministration offices, the auditorium and | the library and gymnasium will be' the | first to be constructed, and will rise in the order in which they are named. i o — War Tax on Stock Transfers. United States Internal Revenue Collec- tor John C. Lynch issued yesterday a circular to brokers and others interested in stocks giving the decision® of the Com- missloner of Internal Revenue on certain disputed points re:ndlnfi the war tax. In the circular Mr. Lynch says that the war revenue act taxes transfers as well as sales of stock, and that the decisions have always been that this tax covers all changes of legal title to or from trustees, though the beneficiary remains the same. —————————— Manslaughter Not Proved. The charges of manslaughter against J. F. McCarthy and W. L. Blakeslee were dismissed by Jugse Conlan yesterday, as there was no evidence to support it. Dur- ing a fight_in South San Rlndlco on January 1 Francois Rachow was hit on the head with a stone. He continued to work for three weeks and was then sent to the French Hospital, where he died on Jan 28. McCarthy and Blakeslee were ..;c.‘,’.'.ii of being responsible for his death. be- |GLORIOUS ANTHEM WINS GOLDEN MEDAL DR. STEWART IS HONORED BY THE ORGANISTS’ GUILD. | e Golden Decorations to Be His Reward | for Music That Has Set the | East a-Talking. To Dr. H. J. Stewart, organist of Trine ity Church, the American Guild of Ore ganists has awarded the gold medal for the best composition suftable for church use. and from all Information recefv from the East Dr. Stewart's anthem, “T Beheld, and lo, a Great Multitude,” will rank for the rest of the years to come with the cla Dr. Stewart's triumph is no small one. The American Guild of Organists has rep- resentation in evel o[ size_in Amer- ica. with headquarters in New York. The greatest musicians of the country are its members, and it was against these that Dr. Stewart matched his musical art and ability. To add to his credit is that the award was made unanimousiy by the Judges. Shortly after Easter San Franciscans will be offered an opportunity to hear the new anthem. As written at present the music is solely for the organ, but Dr. Stewart is orchestrating it, and Easter week promises a fe: It re- quires twenty ecution. The opening chorus; first es are an the fourth verse is car- ried by a quartet, and the last verse ends in a chorus and sublime fugue. For the first time the medal is to come into the West, and many of the prominent mem- bers of the guild will be present Easter week to see that with proper ceremontal it is bestowed upon the m: the musicians of San Francisco, pr salbes I e Boys’ school shoes for §c a pair, worth $1 75, at the sale of shoes, 717 Market st ® —_———— Fire Department Changes. The Fire Commissioners met yesterday, when a communication from the Eureka Valley Improvement Club was read, ask- ing that an engine-house be erected in the district. . As there are no funds the com- munication was placed on file. Willlam Cunningham of truck 8 resigned and David Wright was appointed to fill the vacancy. red Orr was appointed to en- gine 27, Joha Riley drayman to the de- gar(mrn!. Timothy Haley+blacksmith and ohn Crampton watchman and helper. [STEAMER SABINE SEIZED BY THE BRITISH PORT ELIZABETH, Feb. 13.—The Drit- ish steamer Sabine, Captain Taylor, from New York January 14 with a miscesla- neous cargo, has been seized by the Brit- ish gunboat Thrush and brought to Algoa. Bay on suspicion of having on board ar- ticles contraband of war. Before the Sabine salled from New York it was rumored that she had on board a large quantity of provisions, arms and ammunition, army blankets and general supplies, but no confirmation of the rumor could be obtained. The vessel was for Delagoa Bay.