The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 9, 1901, Page 23

<€ ) Pages B 10 32} Pages B3 % | | PHPHPHOWOH ¢ ¥ | | SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 1901 TRUSTS NOT FORMED QUT UF CHARITY Benefiting, Mankind Is| Not the End They Have in View. Avowed Object of the Corpo- rations Is to Nullify Law of Economics. D. M. Delmas Sa Prices for Wa: and Deman Highest. s Monopolies Fix and Services Very the Academy crowded to the t, the cause of the crush The lecture-rc Bciences bu doors last ni in being the anmouncement the gifted orator, D. M. Deimas, would speak. The lecture was given » auspices of the Univ De Asscc 1 of Chicago. voice and han- the skill for which He indulged delivered his d manner that appreciative aundi- 1y interrupted He made a few i then plunged in part: Trusts the Question of the Hour. hour then be stated Are the re- 1al or injuri- 1t injurious, is what? The an- gwer to these ¢ be sought in the history of the itions of the 3 ae this I meed but der Pharaoh, Joseph be- how, foreseeing nered up all the was found in the came, the in- ng for bread; how I will give : how they ato him and re- the - following and, being al- and finding that ve ‘their bodies and ¥ us and our land for iing to their re- I have bought you and how they sub- ast saved our livee our-Lord and And, thue ve of the Jewish tion of the epoch more immedi- was claimed as one crown of England > exercised directly by ht be—in practice it delegation. The stu- 2ds with amazement s of Elizabeth, patents £ the common ned over to the dered at their The matter was he courts In 1602, and & grant of monop-ly by Jaw and wvoid This doctrine of the agec has beer very Englich-s length brought before it was then held that was against English the tribunals of ry in the world constitutions of like Maryland, contrary to the he principles of a not to be suf- the cro declare that spirit of & free pecy free government fered Why Are Monopolies Opposed? Why, it me this settled oppost- asked, Allow me, then, decision. The first es placed their con- lies was- that “‘the price be raised, for he who has the sole selling modity will the price as he Is not this | — was in the e time when the ded as the price of nopilized, first the n the bodies of the “The object which § ing under the form of is neither charit tion, small or r philanthropte. not the end Their goal is their rm _corporations act- f that they can make more d than in their indi- erwise they would act they will make all the their command per- which they fdual profit by the b in th money vidual capa singly. In either money that th mand. The fall w and rise w » public reap is exc prices only when It is the avowed this natural law of e regulating the su the highest figure rant. “If the m devices,”” says Profess: cannot hope that mon than the highest wh veturns.” * * * Prices Go Up. Common experience i in strict sccord with these @ priori deductions. The billion dollar steel trust was’no sooner started in business than the price of steel ralls was advanced $2 per ton—from $26 to 928, The result of the for- mation of the ice trust in New York was to in- crease the price of ice one hundred per cent. In cur own midst as soon s last summer all the leading wine merchants had united their inter- ests in the California Wine Association, and the price of wine was immediately raised about 5 per cent. At the Chicago Trust Conference the follow- ing statement was mede by one of the dele- gates—P. B. Dowe—and was passed unchal- lenged " have here o list showing advances in the prices, due to the direct or indirect influence of trusts. of about 150 commodities; the ad- \"n(‘e! ranging from 5 to 500 per cent. The 1 was obtained by representatives of the An- Trust League applying to manufacturers and dealers for information, and making dafly re- ports. Neary 500 establishments were visited, he list s swos to. * * * Ordinary shovels ubled in wholesale price and snow shovels anced 145 per cent; iron, §5 to 130 per cent; 5 cents a ton wholesale; gasoline, 4 cents & gallon; shoes for the workingmen, 15 to & cents ver pair, etc.”” * * * It is safe to conclude, them, that the mo- nopolist of the hour, like his predecessor of interfered with prices demand ds supply. The ing cheaply when o S ‘e biect ante, of the trust to nullity momics. Its aim is by 10 keep the prices up to ich consumption will war- polist is left to his own chard T. Ely, “we prices will be less yield the largest net of to favorites, | subjected to high | BLYTHE BLOCK, MADE FAMOUS BY LITIGATION, PASSES INTO THE HANDS OF A NEW SYNDICATE OF CAPITALISTS OF WHICH ISAIAS W. HELLMAN IS THE LEADING SPIRIT GEARY ST. GRANT AVENUL. Most Colossal Real Estate Deal Ever Consummated in California Is Sur- rounded With Much Secrecy by Parties to the Transaction---Purchase % HE entire Blythe blofk was pur- chased yesterday from Mrs. Flor- ence Blythe-Moore and A. A. Moore Jr., her husband, by a syn- dicate composed of I. W. Hell- | man, Ant. Borel & Co. and a number of ‘aascc‘ales of Mr. Hellman whose names | are not disclosed. The purchase price has been kept a carefully guarded secret, but | it is believed to have been in excess of | $2,000,000. | No real estate deal of equal magnitude { has ever been made in California. The | one most nearly approaching it was the sale of the Baldwin Hotel property to James L. Flood for $1,600,000. The Blythe block has been on the market from a date since long before the sale of the | Baldwin prpperty, and it has been the | object of négotiations between the owners and almost every capitalist of large means in San Francisco. Its sale will fur- nish the greatest sensation that local financial les have experienced, and its future disposal will be awaited with | keerest interest. The purchasers are not only keeping se- } time when Elizabeth of England granted pat- | ents to her favorites, will fix at will the price | of his wares or services, and will demand the wvery highest which it is profitable to exact. Let us now -examine the trust under another aspect. Additional reason for the condemna- tion of monopolies was given by the English Judges as follows: “It tends to the !mpo\enlhmgnt of divers artificers and others, who, before, by the labor of their hands in thelr art or trade, have maintained themselves and thelr fami- lics, who will of necessity be constrained to live in idleness and beggary.' Nor have the views which ‘the English judges took been changed by the decisions of our own time. * * * The experience of the world demonstrates that the creation of wholesale monopolies unavoldably divides so- clety into two classes. The one, composed of & comparatively small number, enjoys the privilege of authority and command. The other, consisting of the vast mass of the peo- ple, is subjected to the unshunnable doom of passive and helpless obedlience. There are & few masters and many servants—a handful of rulers and & multitude of subjects, * * ¢ ‘Effect on Public Functionaries. There is & third ground of opposition to0 mo- mopolies, which neither the historian or bib- Jical times nor the judgés of the days of Elizabeth have described. It did mot exist in their day..The conditions under which they Jived did not allow It scope. I refer to their influence upon public functionaries, 1t is @ matter of public notoriety that since ‘ru-t corporations have begun their-operations in this country they bave shaped the actions cret the identity of the sssoclates of Messrs. Hellman and Borel and the sum paid for the magnificent plece of realty, but they refuse to state what their !ntes tions are concerning it. They say its dis- posal is a matter of the future, to be de- cided in view of the conditions that will othen exist. Apparently it is the intention of the syndicate of purchasers to sell the block plecemeal, possibly retaining por- tions of it upon which to erect buildings commensurate with the choice location of the land. Secrets Carefully Guarded. I. W. Hellman was asked last night at his summer home in San Rafael for a statement in regard to the mammoth pur- chase. He said: - “Yes, the property has been purchased. Borel & Co. are assoclated with me in the transacticn. There are also others whose names will not be made public for some time to come. I decline to state the price paid for the property. I will state, how- ever, that this is the largest real estate deal that was ever carried through in this Wiil any one deny that, since the spirit of mercantilism has reached flood tide, it has dominated the making and enforcement of laws. as well in the-State as in the Federal hails of legislation? * * * One of the most prominent living manufac- turers and economists of England, speaking not long ago of the injury done ky the monopolistic power of trusts, said: “‘America will one day awake to the stern reality of the evil, and when its terrible na- ture i fully realized some strong legislation must follow. I believe if legislation does not step in and treat these men as it would treat other deadly enemies of the state, there will be such an uprising In the States as has not been since the accession of Abraham Lincoln to supreme power. There is no tyranny in the world to be compared with the tyranny of the active, scheming gold tyrant. It Is in- concelvable that seventy million free Ameri- cans will bend thelr necks to such a sordid despotism. If they do, they will deserve to be ensiaved.” * * * Advantages Claimed for Trusts. ‘But let us examine with somewhat greater miruteness the specific advantages claimed for trusts. All the advocates of truste—with ab- solute unanimity, so far as my reading has gone—agree in setting forth in the front rank of the benefiis attending trusts the fact that by their formation and operation the economic ‘waste of competitive production and distribu- tion is eliminated. In other words, to limit the statement, for the sake of fllustration, to the case of manufactured articles, and to put it in every-day English: Manufactured ar- ticles can be made and marketed with less the days when Israel dwelt in Egypt, or of the | of legislative bodies for their own benefit, wummud uunvhnln- - BLYTHE BLOCK FROM A POINT ON MARKET STREET OPPOSITE GRANT AVENUE} - State. Something of the value of the property may be realized when it is known that at present, with the old build- ings, it brings in over $140,000.” In answer to a question as to whether the property would be improved, Mr. Hell- man said: “At present improvements have not been considered. You can state, however, that in a comparatively short time the property, which is in the choicest part of the city, will be suitably improved. Morc than this I cannot say at present.” The sale was. consummated yesterday morning, final agreement being reached in the office of the Union Trust Compdny of San Francisco. The actual transfer of the property will probably not be made for a month, as the transaction is a colos- sal one and much time will be required for the examination of titles, the adjust- ment of leases and contracts with tenants and other work preliminary to the change of ownership. The sale was negotiated by Thomas Magee & Sons and Walter J. Bartnett of the law firm of Gunnison, Booth & Bart- rett. Mrs. Florence Blythe Moore was represented in the transaction by A. A. Moore, her father-in-law, and E. 8. Hel- ler of Heller & Powers represented Mr. Hellman and his cssociates. The transaction includes all the realty held by Mrs. Florence Blythe Moore. Of the property bounded by Market and Geary streets and Grant avenue but three pleces are held by other owners. One is the gore lot at Market and Geary streets, with a frontage of 37:7 feet on Market street and 30:6 feet on Geary street, owned by the Adams and Kibbe heirs. The adjoining lots, with a frontage of 53 feet on Market street and 73 feet 10 inches on Geary street, was purchased the anly ome who makes and sells them, ¢ ¢ © All this {s undoubtedly true. But, portant question {5, To whom do the benefits arising from this economy of production and distribution go? That they go to the trust, and are from the start intended so to go, Is a proposition so plain that it is not challenged even by the most ardent advocates of monopoly, * * ¥ Throughout all the articles published in the May number of the North American Raview in defense cf tructs the workingman's advan- tage in the shape of increased wages is r peatedly referred to. Undoubtedly wages have, in some instances, been raised a trifiing per- certage. In no iInstance have they been roised the tithe of the advantages accruing to the owners as the result of consolidation. And the labor ‘agitation prevailing at Ahis very hour over the United States, the reluctant compliance or the absolute refusal of the trusts to concede an increase of wages are a sufficient answer to the benefits claimed for thé workingmen by reason of these consoli- dations, . What Is the Solutionf And now the question occurs, Where is the present and ever increasing tendency toward centralization and unification to end? What is t0 be the solution of the trust problem? A very prominent capitalist and Wall-street speculator—Mr. James R. Keene—is credited with having made the statement that the end must be revdlution or socialism. Dismissing the consideration of revolution,. let us exam- ine the other alternative. What is soclalism? As now understood It means the common ownership by the com- munity, soclety or State of all—or substan- _from Mrs. Moore for $290,000 by the Mu~ tual Bavings Batk, and excavation {s now the im- | progressing for a stately bank building to cover the entire 4662 square feet of that, portion of the Blythe block. In the far corner on Grant avenue and Geary street a portion with a frontage of 70 feet on Grant avenue and 40 feet on Géeary street is owned by the Buck estate. With the exception of these three prop- erties all of the block passes to thé own- ership-of Mr. Hellman and his assoclates, including the lot with a frontage of 20 feet 6 inches on Geary street Known as the Sawyer lot, which was recantly pur- chased by Mrs. Moore for $50,000. Appraised Value Was $2,354,996. The total appraised value of the block exclusive of the bank building site and the Sawyer lot was $2,354.996. That ap- pralsement was made in 189, and realty values have increased since them-until a similar appraisement now, by parcels, would fix ‘a total value for the property at more than $3,000,000. The handling of so large a property in one transaction brings into action different .nfluences. however, and a valuation by parcels foots up a total which is doubtless greatly in excess of the sum which Mrs. Moore will recelve for the block in its entirety. Conservative estimates by disinterested real estate men, figuring upon the block arce! by parcel, place Its value at about ,400.000. According to these figures. the purchase price was probably close to an even two millions and certainly not in excess of $2,500,600. The amount Mrs. Florence Blythe Moora will receive out of the selling price of the famous block will be reduced $1,000,000 by the cancellation of the mortgage held by a New York trust company. ‘This mort- gage was glven to secure a loan nego- tiated about a year ago, at the same time approximately that the Californla Title Insurance Company wrote a title insu-- ance policy on the Blythe block. Recent Increase in Valus, The real estate men and attorneys con- cerned in the transaction' point to a marked increase in the value of the prop- erty within the last year, as indicated hy an increase of $16,000 In the yearly rentals. ‘The block pays a present income of about $140,000 per annum, though it contains but few buildings that are even passable, none of them being modern or desirable and most of them being simply one-story structures that have been abfe to main- tain themselves In the very heart of the city, against the crowding in upon them tially all-the material means or Instruments of production. Under it all private owner- ship of, property from which an income is de- rived ceases. This, it must be noted, does not impiy the . common ownership of property which does not produce income. Private awn- ership of things from which no revenue may be Cerlved—such, for instance, as plate, fur- niture, pictures—is,.not. prohibited. Next to, the common ownership of -the means or In¢ struments of production {s.the common man- agementgof them, ard, as a coroilary, the apphicatioln of the results to the common ben- efit of all' the owners. Production itself is in turn to represent the aggregated product of the labor of ail the members of the come munity. All who can must wark according to thelr capacity; and to none who wish and are able can work be denled... The community Iabors sufficiently. only to. supply. the wants of all its members, and from the :accumulated mass each receives his just share. * ¢ * ‘While this state of ideal ‘equality and rer- fect justice has captivated the imagination and enlisted - the < support of many men of great intellectual attainments and loftiness of purpose, its realization fn: the present condi- tion of the human race is so manifestly im- possible that it may, 'lthou(- Mtluon, be laid aside. * * ¢ - As a rule .the socialist of to-day looks with complacency, if mot absolute encouragement, upon the present progressive concentration of capital and unification of industry. There he beholds the preparatory steps of thie realiza- tion of his own theories. ' As the eircle nar- rows, as the components become more and more concentrated, as the sen in number and the ultimate unity which they- -are tending - les- Price Mot Disclesed, but It |s Believed to Be in Exéess of $2.000,000 " from all sides of modern and pretentious buildings, solely because of the litigation that tled up the estate of Thomas Blythe. As a further illustration of the increase in rental value, the property occupied by 8. N. Wood -& Co. is held by that firm on a ten-year lease, signed a year ago. at an annual rental of $22.800, while under the | previous lease held by the same firm only $13.000 annual rental was pald. The block has generally been consid- ered by parcels, both for appraisement and by prospective purchasers, such division the best results can be reached in estimating the character and value of thé property. 3 Valuation by Parcels. Parcel No. 1 is the most valuable sub- diviston of the block. It lies at the cor- ner of Grant avenue and Market street and its buildings are occupled by J. J. Gil- dea, Eagleson & Co. and Cooper. Its ap- praised valuation was $470,000, and a con- servative estimate places its value now at $475,000. The Grant avenue, frontage Is| elghty-five feet. Parcel No. 2 was appraised at $150,000 and its value is probably not much in ex- cess of that amount. It is an elbow- shaped parcel, with fifty-two feet six inches frontage ondGrant avenue, occu- pied by onestory “shantles,” and sixty- five feet five and a half inches on Market street. On its Market-street front is the three ‘story building occupied by Kast's shoe store.” Parcel No. 3 frents on Grant avenue, sixty-seven feet six inches, and on Geary street twenty feet, with the corner, sev- enty by forty feet, eliminated, that por- tion being owned by the Buck estate. The five story Central Block covers both prop- erties. The appraised value was $115,121, and present estimates place the value at $180,000. The lots occupled by the Popular res- taurant and the shantles back of it are designated as parcel No. 4, with a Geary- street frontage of sixty-five feet eight inches and a depth of 137 feet six inches. It was appraised at $204,375 and probably that is the limit of its value. Parcel No. 5 is considered worth $90,000, though it was appraised at $100,000. A four-story building occuples it, the ground floor of which is leased by Radovich Brothers. The adjoining Sawyer lot, pur- chased for $50,000, is occupied by the Man- Hottan saloon and cafe. Parcel No. ¢ has a frontage on Market street of 70 feet 7 inches and adjoins Brooks way. It was appraised at $333,000 and is considered to be worth $350,000 at present. It has a three-story bullding. Among its tenants are the Imperial Studio, E. Korn and Jesse Marks. Parcel No. 7 was appraised at $385,000. Mrs. Moore asked $425,000 for it, but prob- ably never receiveq an offer of more than $375,000. Its two-sfgry building is occu- pled by S. N. Wood & Co. Parcel No. 8 has a Market-street front- age of 48 feet 5 inches and a Geary-street frontage of 40 feet. It was appraised at $265,000. Offers of-$250,000 have been made for it and a conservative estimate places its value at about that figure. The Mutual Savings Bank site comprises parcels 9 and 10 of the original Blythe block. proached, he'sees the gradual un(nldlu of his owi plans. Merrily Going On is the assignee sale znd every garment of the Brown Clothing Company s going to be sold. That beautiful and.well' made stock of men’s clothing that is now being sacrificed at 778 Market street is posi- tively entitled to your consideration. Do' ou ‘need a suit?. Well, come and hem now. ’ro-momw (Monday)' 1 wl{l fi‘menl all: wool suits for $4 6 a ese lines are cll“; vmnudd chevi- cassimere, se n black and blue— ingle and dnuhl:‘brmted, nobby suits— suitable for anvbody, mno matter how much or little money 'he has; $4 65 will ‘buy one of thesa suits n the clothing as- sigriee sale of the Boston, "ll H-rket street, near Fourth. P. C. Kel nee for the Brovln Clothing Company ot New York. ' Arrested for Cruelty. © C. B. Davis was arrested yesterday by the ‘officers of the Soclety for the Pre- vention of Cruelty to Animals for abus- ing his horses. became heated with anger because the horses c|1llld not pull a load too heavy for. i em and beat them brutally over. their heads with a He cooled his wrath last night in %he City and by | REPUBLIGANS INGORPORATE FOR CAMPAIGN Primary League Organ- izes Under Law to Abolish Bosses. Good Citizens of the Party In- vited to Join for Clean Politics. S R LD Thomas P. Woodward Is Elected President—The Organigation to Be Extended to Assembly Districts. T s A new departure in politics is the incor- poration of the Republican Primary League of California. The articles were | auly filed in the County Clerk’s office of { San Francisco vesterday afterroon. The | directors are: Grosvenor P. Ayers, David | Rich, Geerge Boyne, Thomas P. Wood- ward. F. E. Schmitz. John W. Rogers, « James F. Cheetam, Lincoln E. Savage, | Emmet P. Barrett. A. Ruef and 1. W. Lees. The officers of the leazue are: President, Thomas P. Woodward: vice president. David Rich; treasurer, Grosve- nor P. Avers, and secretary, L. E. Sav- age. The chief purpose of the league is to secure good movernment through the active agency of representative Republi- can citizens. As the new primary election law guar- antees to every voter the right to vote | for delegates to nominate candidates for ofice and =2lso gives ample assurance | that every vote cast will be counted for | the delegate voted for. there is an incen- | tive for citizens to register and partiei- pate in the primarv movement. To at- | tain the commen end of displacing bosses | and putting affairs local in 'the hands of citizens who are concerned in the wel- fare of the city unitv of action is essen- tial. It is possible that the Republican Primary League will give all honest-Re- publicans a chance to unite their influ- ence and energy in a camnaign for clean politics and to preserve the advantages of success after the victory for deeency shall have been achieved. A Deliberate Movement. Refore the articles of mcorporation wers | drawn the question as to the best course to be pursued to the end of securing the nomination of revresentative men for nublic office was discussed freely by in- fluential and active taxpaying Republi- cans in everv distriet of the city. The wlan of legal incorporation did not soring from impulse or caprice. THe deliberate judgment of men versed in public affairs was rendered in favor of the system. 4 Among the promoters there is no candi- date for office and no inclination exists to favor the cause of any aseirant for public station. The main purpose, it is averred, 1s to bring all good citizens of the Repub- Hean party together for the purpose of wresting control of affairs from the de- graded hosses that have fastened them- selves on the party. The fact is considered that Republicans are apathetic and indifferent because a fairs of the party, locally speaking, were: comrmitted to two bodies, each styling it. self a County Committee. One of thess hodies Is so hopelesslv boss-ridden and depraved that no good can ever come from it. The other Is under a cloud as to its iegality. There is absolute demand therefore for an active, vigorous, clean- cut, anti-boss organization. The pro- moters of the Republican Primary League maintain that they have opened the way for Republicans to free them$elves from boss dictation and place in the offices of city government clean, capable and hon- est men. To Take Assembly Districts. As provided in the articles of incorpora- tion. the organization, through the agency of sub-committees, will be extended from the central league to every Assembly dis- trict of the city. The advocates of the new departure assert that it will be read- ily observed that the movement to organ- ize clean elements of the party is not in the interest of any class, caste or sect. Thomas P. Woodward, a well-known printer, is an employer of labor. Emmet P. Barrett is a member of several frater- nal organizations. E. E. Schmitz is presi- dent of the Musicians’ Union. Grésvener P. Ayers is a well-known representative | of the mercantile interests. David Rich |1s widely known as a real estate man. John W. Rogers is active in the Law and Order League and James F. Cheetam is actively identified with the Retail Liquor Dealers’ Assoclation. George Boyne has lived forty years in the Forty-third Dis- trict. All that time he has been engaged in fighting bosses and earning money to pay taxes. A. Ruef was asked to become a director because of his knowledge of law and his abilities as an adviser. Lin- coln E. Savage possesses speclal qualifi- cations for secretary. Ex-Chief of Police 1. W. Lees is a taxpayer, whose knowl- edge of local affairs renders him particu- larly useful. All Republicans Welcome. The organizers of the league want the fact to be known that every good Repub- lican is welcome to join. The idea is to make the league powerful in every dis- trict, to induce citizens who have been in- different to the management of public af- )tmn to unite in an effort to oust the bosces and boss-creatures and place the reins of powe: into the hands of trusted men. The league will immediately establish central headquarters and proceed to the establishment of district quarters. The first and most urgent duty ahead is that connected with the registration of voters. The next important duty will be the nomination of representative men to be voted for at the primary election August 13, when delegates must be chosen to comprise the municipal nominating con- vention of the party. Know all men by these presents: That we, the undersigned, all of whom are citizens and residents of the State of California. have this day voluntarily associated ourselves together for the purpose of forming a corporation under the laws of the State of California, and we hereby certify: First—That the name of said corporation shall_be the Republican Primary League (of San Francisco). Second—That the purposes for which it is formed are political and social. They are to foster and maintain the political principies of the Republican party. to arouse and maintaln the interest of all electors in the maintenance