The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 29, 1906, Page 3

THE- SAN FRANCISCO . CAL T. “ 1906, QUTLINES COLOSSAL WORK FOR THE REARING OF GREATER CITY COMMITTEES SUBMIT THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS THING OF NSUBNGE NONEYS 'SPRING VALLEY WATER SUPPLY IS REPORTED EMBRAGED IN REVENUE SCHEME TAKES, IN PART, PLACE OF BUILDINGS Present Valuation of All Property Estimated to Be in the Neighborhood of $300,000,000. cisco can be assured that ment roll probably will ,000,000 depart- 1 100,000 to § 00,000,000 none of rippled. nc its w the if ‘the terially advance 3 R g reduction sed valuation will b city . b e Snb-Com ©C On AsSsess- 15250000000 and has made its estimate ze and taxation, Whith re- | with that amount of reduction in view ay to the reconstruction | that is to say, we have figured that th forty This committee | present valuation of taxable property wil i of Frank J. Murasky be between $275,000,000 and $300,000.000. A. Ruef, William C. Mur- | The catastrophe has increased the need: Downey Harvey of some departments of the municipa at all of the insurance §oYernment and lessened those of others. and due on policies i¢ | FTOPosed new legislation designed to ac- xation is made known by ee, which points out that s by fire ran into the ions the insurance due a great reduction in this feport of this committee of special importance at this ows loss of ain _with buildings essor that be betweer these ™ of per- paid and in March and the first Monday in July| of all property within the county subject | to assessment, and must place such prop: erty on the assessment roll. We recom: mend to the Assessor the expediency and | of devising some -method by necessity hich this class of property shall be as e Your committee has assumed that the P a new recordation of unde- instruments and a res8toration o ecords of those destroyed will ne. ssitate an increased expenditure by th Recorder: and the condition of the street and sewers and the conserving of th health of the community will enlarge th demands of the Board of Public work: and the Board of ..ealth Many other departments, because of\ th extraordinary diminution of the city" area and population, will find that thei requirements have increased. sessed valuation was the sameé as now, together with a consideration of the cir: cumstances in which the municipal gov ernme derived from increased license fees, exigencies of the situation, no departmen will be crippled or rendered inefficient. However, after a careful review of the budgets of former yvears, in which the as- t is place. and wue revenues to be we are enabled to say that, despite the great | l e s The conclusion has been reached by the sub-committee on water sup- ply and fire protection, which re- ported yesterday to the reconstruction committee of forty, that the system of the Spring Valley Water Company was not only inadequate to meet the extraordinary demands upon it dur- ing the conflagration, but was inade- quate for. less severe requirements than were then considered efficient. It is the further opinion of this' com- mittee that the system is in a much less efficient state now than before the fire, and it asserts that San Fran- cisco can only be deemed safe from another conflagration after it has es- tablished its own water system or some means can be devised to put an end to the everlasting controversy between the people and Spring Val- ley, a controversy that has resulted so disastrously to the city. \ The committee that made this re- port is composed of men distinguished in the engineering world and is non- | partisan. It is a report based upon e 1 s 1 3 e s e e s e s r t It is believeu that the liquor lincense | unbiased judgment and one that will | should be fixed in an amount, at least, [ be read not alone with interest, but | whith will provide for the maintenance| with certain profit, by those now of the Police Department. struggling to regenerate the de- sion of the doliar lim.. might be avoided, | careful making of estimates. to the committee pr: cal year upon a tax rate which will no the dollar limit; and we, there PLAN TO PROTECT _ THE RESIDENCES Advice Given to Keep Them Back From Sidewalk Line, Thus Widening Open Street Space. nt suggestion that will r a safer and more beautiful ontained in the report of the nmittee on Burnham plans, which adopted yesterday by the recon- ruction committee of forty. In ad- lands for the agreed upon and indorsed mittee and e Board of Supervisors, the commit- tee on Burnham plans recommends the city exercise its police pow- d compel builders on residence s to place their structures a distance back of the side- jon to condemning of ning ¥ committee ed ine. his is a power that is exercised by of the Eastern cities and re- not beautification ough the planting of grass and in front of each structure, but places the houses on opposite sides of streets farther apart, making it less for flames to spread and giving fighters greater room in which to verate. The report of this commit- which was presented by Chair- James D. Phelan, is as follow: have subordinated our work merely eratiom of useful features of an and have co-operated committee on the widening, e » and grading of streets and restor- ng pavements, whose report we have in- sed. That o has for the burned district adopted the ham plan and we recommend the adoption of all recommendations of t nham plan and report and the execu- on of the same within the fire zone and e balance as circumstances may deter- We recommend that Seventh street substituted, however, for Eighth street as a parkway, to correspond with the plan submitted to and adopted by the commit- tee of forty. WATER FRONT IMPROVEMENTS. We recommend as a matter of great practical importance as the determination of the line on which property owners may at once rebuild that the proper municipal authority should forthwith fix the build- ing line on streets which are to be wid- ened so that the matter shall not be left to_slow judicial proceedings. We recommend that in the reconstruc- tion of the water front the committee having that department in charge car out, so far as practicable, the mendations of the Burnham plan that th boulevard surrounding the city be car- ried as a roadway over the one-story fire- proof warehouses to be erected on the ine of the seawall, and that the United tinue the boulevard through its property and at the same time to lay out the pa- rade ground, drill ground and drives in the Presidio, as indicated in the Burnham plan. The Federal Government has shown a commendable desire to improve its property at this season in order to give employment to our people and to harmonize its plans with those adopted the city for the general improvement. We would also petition the Government to construct a driveway around Fort Ma- son and not permit its contemplated buildings to encroach upon that line. The plan already adopted by the com- mittee of forty provides that within ten years the Panhandle be extended to the junction of Market street and Van Ness avenue, which represents in part the burned area. We recommend that within the same period the Panhandle be extended to Baker street, making a com- plete and direct roadway from the park &nd ocean to the city. - We recommend , that property owners be urged, by common agreement among themselves, to open up the diagonals through the territory north and south of the park as a necessary means to give access to those sections and promote -cir- culation within them. PARK AND RESERVOIR SITE. We recommend that reservoir sites, and incidentafly park sites, should be reserved recom- | of reservoir sites is more properly within the province of the committee on water supply to recommend, but this committee simply indicates the possibility of making reservoir sites ornamental features of the landscape. It has been suggested that property owners co-operate in cutting down Rincon which would open a large area for 1 manufacturing and business purposes. t the block Ha into a public park and reservoir site. We recommend that a driveway con- necting Telegraph Hill with the proposed terraced roadway around Rincon Hill be made and that the said terraced roadway be widened at intervals into park spaces, as, for instance, from Filbert to Chestnut streets on' the east side and from Chest- nut street to Greenwich on the west side to a width of 250 feet. The object of this is to prevent houses abutting upon the roadway, as originally proposed, from en- tirely obscuring the view. We recommend that upon the terraced roa |fornia and. R | Pacific Height fic, terra passable by walks for foot passengers. "lhu co-operation of property owners with the city should be had for the construc- |tion and maintenance of these improve- | ments. We desire to report that we have ad- vised that the city, under its police power, {has the right of fixing new building lines requiring that the at a_certain distance from the sidewalks. as been used for the double purpose |of affording fire protection by creating wide distances between houses and for improving the a; giving them a pa: | dways around Cali- ussian Hills and also on where too steep for traf- rkway effect. We recom- mend that an ordinance of that character | be adopted to apply to certain residence | streets, as Pacific avenue, Pierce, Scott and Dolores streets and the residence streets on the hills in the burned district. The boulevard connecting ineteenth |avenue through the Lake Merced ranch, for which a right of way has been granted by the Spring Valley’ Water Company, should be constructed. We recommend the creation of a civic center at the junction of Van Ness avenue and Market street consisting of a group of public buildings, surrounding a plaza or open space, instead of as . heretofors | haying one building to house all municipal |departments and we refer this plan to | the committee on municipal build ings. | NON-RESIDENT COMMISSION. We recommend that the Board of Su- pervisors authorize the Board of Public Works, by making proper provision there- |for, to appoint a non-resident commission of three members, two of whom shall be architects, to control the question of de- sign and location of the plqnclpal munici- pal buildings, as successfully illustrated |in_the city of Cleveland. I We desire to impress upon the commit- |tee of forty the importance of taking a | broad view not only for the present but | the future needs of the city n!DSan Fran- | cisco, which 'js destined to grow in popu- {lation and serve the great pus of | the metropolis of the Pacific (E?A:::. A tare opportunity has been presented to | the citizens by the fire to carry out plans :erlc::n on&mm‘fid remote, but which e now in the mmed exficuu};m. : grasp of i iate T. urnham has advised the nit- tee that broad streets or bomevm:e not necessarily or exclusively recommend- el for mere purposes of adornment, but :;;r Ilhe{"rtx::re vflalmanfl necessary purpose ‘aci ng traffic b; = gestion and ai T 0 Db ciby of L grea e city of ndon, after its rejected- the plans of sxr'/cmnf»p.}.r::’- Wren, according to the his me, ' on account of ‘Jealos fhe people” and_since e e T m . has not only regre to take advan g has paid en OrmOUs sums to effect the very 1o doub that by aMiction and taking advantage o'flfig recent catastrophe “to rise on the l.hallr selves - to ;m the high mfla{nmm l%gll. Cali- ‘ornip-street and also on legraph Hul! as shown on the plans. The matter The effort of your commitgee has been to devise a method by which the suspen- and we are happy to report that, after the it appeared ‘ticable to operate | the municipal government during the fis- | iling that this committee recommends ounded by First, Second, rrison and Bryant streets, he converted all streets abutting and planted and made houses be constructed the line of In other cities this power ppearance of streets by tage of the situation byt |and: stroyed metropolis. The report was read by the chair- man of the syb-committee, C. H. Mec- Kinstry, major, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A, and member of the Ameri- can Society of Civil Engineers, and in addition to himself is signed by J. | Dalzell Brown, vice president and | manager of the California Safety De- posit and Trust Company; Thomas P. Woodward, City Engineer; V. G Bogue, member of the American So- ciety of Civil Engineers; Charles D. Marx, member of the American So. ciety of Civil Engineers; A. M. Hunt, | member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and Edwin Duryea | Jr., member of the American Society |of Civil Engineers. The report fol- lows: The work assigned to this sub-com- | mittte was twofold. In the matter of the present water supply and fire pro- tection system we were asked to make recommendations suggested by the recent catastrophe and in the matter of future |supply we were asked to report which of all gvailable sources ahd systems is in our opinion the most feasible and ad- visable. As to the latter, we desire to express our unwillingness to handle this subject otherwise than in the manner in which an engineering project of this mag- nitude should be handled, viz. by making such an investigation as will enable at least a comparative estimate to be made |of the merits and costs of the various available systems. This would involve months of field and office work done un- der the directign of able hydraulic en- |gineers, assisted by competent legal ad- vice in matters relating to water rights, titles, etc. It must be remembered that the tenders which the Supervisors have |recently received are in most cases totally deficient in the kind of information on which a selection should be based and that the various elemerts affecting the cost and desirability of each of perhaps a dozen J)rojects will have to be worked out in detail The general committee cduld have this investigation made if suf- ficlent time and money were" available, | We advise, however, that the matter be | dealt with' through a_commission of en- | gineers, as has been done by Boston, New York and other large cities throughout the world that have solved the water sup- ply problem satisfactorily. PRESENT SYSTEM. We think it due to the general commit- tee to exé)laln why in our report and recommendations as to the existing sys- tem of water supply and fire protection we have not gone more into detail; why, for example, we have not specified the number, capacity and exact location of the city distributing reservoirs which we would advise, nor presented a map show- ing the sizes and locations of the dis- tributing Yipel with the gates, hydrants, etc., which we think necessary for ade- quate fire protection. This again is a problem the details of which can be worked out only by long and painstaking study. We have tried to avoid suggesting anything that would hamper the engineers to whom this work should be entrusted and have aimed to present nothing more than the general principles on which any satisfactory plan must be founded. This report is based upon a personal inspection of the existing water system, on statements made to us by competent observers, on interviews with various per- sons. including officials of the Spring Val- ley Water Company, and on the.report of the National Board of Fire Underwriters on the water lupsly and fire-fighting fa- clities of San rancisco. The under- writers® re‘port, two_coples of which are herewith, is dated October, 1905, and is the result of careful examination and stidy on the part of competent eng Under the heads “city in general,* “fire hting facilitie: a ‘“‘structural con- ditions and hazards” it discusses the whole subject of fire risk in San Fran- 0. ~ Under fire-fightis facilities it deals with the water supply and the or- ganization, equipment and oE tions of the fire department, the fire al system and the various fire department auxiliar- ies. It du{x-lbel the water system in de- tail and is Accompanied by maps showing the locations of the Spring Valley reser- t |erals and cross-connections on the author- lity of the underwriters' report, having | no direct means of informing ourselves on this point. Z DEMAND WILL EXCEED SUPPLY. The demand for water at the time | when the ‘‘earthquake fire” occurred had reached a point where it was practicaily equal to the, developed supply. This fact was recognized by the Spring Valley Water Company, which was on the point of closing a contract for the construction of the Calaveras dam to form a large storage reservoir on Alameda Creel The present consumption is less than that immediately prior to the fire, and the delivery capacity of the system is likewise somewhat reduced by the de- struction of the Pilarcitos conduit. Con- sumption, however, will rapidly increase and in a short time the demand will ex- ceed the immediately available supply. The fire therefore has not done away with the necessity for taking immediate steps toward securing an increased sup- ly. p'}hz ilarcitos and the main Crystal Springs’ dams were not injured. The geo- logical fault line which traverses the Coast Range from Salinas to Mendocino County extends across the easterly abut- ment of the San Andreas dam.. At the time of our inspection the water stood dam and there were no- evidences of leakage. However, without raising . the water level or excavating on the fault line it is impossible to determine whether or not the upper part of the dam is in- jured. Should injdry be discovered it can easily be remedied. Mr. Schussler, chief engineer of the water company, informed the committee that he intends to exca- vate and make an examination. The Pilarcitos conduit, which for .a considerable portion of its length is fre- quently crossed by the fault line, was over such portion broken, telescoped, col- lapsed, pulled apart and damaged beyonvd the possibility of economical repair. We are informed that the water company in- tends to abandon this line for service course, which is advisable on account of its nearness to the fault. : OUTLINE OF DAMAGE. The most serious injury to the San Andreas conduit. was.whers it crosses the head of the Baden marsh. At this point there was a slip joint provided with ties connecting lugs on either side of the joint. Several of these lugs were torn out by the shock. permitting the water ily repaired by the company within sixty hours. Several stretches of the Crystal Springs conduit were injured. At the Baden marsh crossing the pipe was rup- tured in many places, and long sections were thrown from the trestle. length of the trestle was broken down. Examination disclos that some. of the timbers were decayed. To what extent this affected the amount of damage done it_is impossible. to state. No injury was done to any of the pumping statjons. The Alameda supply works were not injured. The Alameda conduit and| submarine pipes crossing the bay suffered no injury except to attachments at the San Mateo end, and to a slip joint at the Alameda end. The distributing reservoirs were not in- jured, except Lake Honda, the concrete lining of which was cracked. This break was due to the displacement of a retain- ing wall by a sliding bank set in motion by the earthquake. The distributing mains were injured in many places. Those from College Hill and University Mound reservoirs were completely severed, and those from Lake Honda badly damaged. We believe from the best evidence obtainable that all seri- ous breaks occurred in made ground. These breaks rapidly wasted the water stored in the city reservoirs and cut off entirely the direct supply to the distmcts where the main fires originated. The presence of many broken service pipes leading to burned houses made it very difficult to rehabilitate the pipe sys- tem after the fire had ceased, and al- lowed much waste of water with resulting low pressures and delay in filling reser- voirs. The design of the various parts of the Spring Valley Water Company’s system and the materials used are generally ex- cellent. The dams and reservoir walls are good examples of their types. The iron used in the out of town conduits is of the best quality of laminated ‘charcoal iron, so thoroughly protected by the nphll't.sm coating employed that even ithe oldest of the pipes showed very little evidence of corrosion. The trestles aq s the marshes are not equal in permanence to other portions of the system, and in gen- eral the timber work is old and not in the best condition. The materials used in the distributing mains are of good quality and the breaks in the mains were due to a great and unforeseeable settlement of the ground. 4 5 RECOMMENDATI°N8 MADE. The sub-committee continues with recopmendations as follows: First—The protection against fires af-. forded by the system of the Spring Valley Water Com was inadequate, even as it existed fore the ‘‘earthquake-fire,” and for the less severe requirements then considered sufficient. The system is in a less efficient state now than before the fire, and, as shown by the earthquake, voirs and conduits and the layout of the distributing system, and specifies the de- ficiencies in the various parts of the sys- tem which should be supplied to furnish adequate fire protection. - In view of the full account of the Spring Valley system contained in the under- writers’ report an outline description will suffice for our - purposes herein. ' The sources of the present systems are certain | drain: areas on this peninsula and in Alame County. The “water obtained from the peninsular sources is three reservoirs in San Ma County, x‘\:lmely. Plllrcl'(rfl':,e Slnt.\udreu and Crys. prings. water m. Alam County is obtained lrdm#ng ul L lecting works. The water from the stor- age reservoirs and from Alameda Coun was conducted into Lake Honda, *Col Hill and University Mound distributing reservoirs by three conduits. The Pilar- ;hlct_: delivered water into g.ti- oondnll.b i e Honda by gravity,” was wreck the earthquake and Pilarcitos 'I.teofl' hlz now brought to-the city- thmm-n Andreas conduit and rai s o g Ty of “that 4 i , and ‘pumps. the emergenc; uirements are much| more severe than hitherto realized. Second—In order tp secure the certainty of . fire protection is, imperative that the city own or control its own water supply. efinite stringent - legal agreements would better the present con- ditions of dual control, but if the strained relations continue which have existed be- tween the city and Spring Vall ‘Water Company for many years no ef- fective relief can be obtained except by ci_trym own%r:hl,'p’.h Y patiit: | rd-—The 1 condul leading from the storage rsor:mlu ‘were ruptuie; by 5 k.. The dw!l,c!lrm of the Pilar- Aoa duit’ e to its nearness to t l}sqhud shows tl:t future con- 48 faults' as possible. The most serio, ® Jury to the Crystal Springs and Su:.Ai:. dreas conduits occurred at marsh Cross- . The lesson: of “the earthquake is that marsh crossings should oe avojded ‘possible. en soft und must e{r:‘ud P al and sub- ulz"lln = mtdfm constructie be ! i ‘g ::led. nber 18 used it | br about twenty feet below the crest of the | to escape. These breaks were temporar- | g A great | 0 HAVE ALWAYS. BEEN INSUFFICIENT. Experts Say That at Iis ‘Best It Was Not Equal to the Requirements ' Ex- isting Before the Great Fire That Devastated the City. Men Prominent in the Engineering World Declare It Imperative That the Municipality Own and Operate Its Own System. ditions, the main arteries of the distrib- uting system should be so laid as to avold as far as possible all places where slips and grouna ~movements resulted from the earthquake, should have fre- quent cross connections and should be furnished with a great number of gates and large hydrants properly disposed. All service pipes should be fitted with some device, such as a balanced valve, which will close automatically should the ser- vice pipe be broken. ‘We recommend that park locations shall not stand in the way of laying supply mains on lines which wul give the best service. This is forced on our attention by the devious line of the main supply plpe to the Richmond District; which should have crossed Golden Gate Park. W nere soft or made ground must be crossed special precautions ghould be taken to protect the pipe from injury by settlement of the ground; for example, by the use of flexible joints, slip joints, un- ylelding supports and sinuoue alignment. It is entirely practicable, in our opinion, to provide a system of mains which as a system will not be seriously $njured by such an earthquake as decurred on - April 18. 1906, or even one of greater aevern?n The character of the injury to the only one distributing reservoir damaged by the earthquake shows tnat a sufficient quan- tity of water for successfully fighting fires can be safely stored within the city limits. To add to the gquantity of water stored within the city limits the number of the distributing reservoirs should be increased. AUXILIARY SALT WATER MAINS. Fifth—To afford additional fire protec- tion within the congested value district we recommend that a separate system of mains be installed, to be supplied. with water pumped from the bay. Ve advise the instaliation of two pumping stations on solid ground, one at the base of Tel- egraph Hill and the other at the base of Rincon Hill, each to be -capable of de- livering at, least 7500 gallons per minute, with a hydrant pressure of 200 pounds per square inch. The foundations of the suction ‘lines should receive special care in design and construction. The main artery connecting the two stations should | be swung to the westward sufficiently to avold insecure ground. The ‘system should be fitted at ‘several poipts on the water front with connec< tions into which fireboats or other float ing. pumps could discharge. At least one: such boat should be provided simultane. ously with the installation of the separate system recommended. It should be fitted with pumps of the same capacity as one of the land stations and with modern equipment for fighting fires along the ock front. We have communicated this recommendation to the sub-committee on special session of the Legislature to the |end that the inftiative may be taken to | have such boat or boats provided by the proper State authorities. ‘To avoid marine growths and corrosion’ |the system should normally be kept filled | with fresh water under pressure, supplied | from the regular service through-connec- tions provided with check valves to pre- vent salt water from backing into the fresh water system. Sixth—We do not recommend the car- rying out of the Twin Peaks reservoir project for the fire protection of the con ested district. believing the above out- ined system to be preferable. This reser- voir scheme involves long mains, injury to which would render the system use- less. The pressure which would result| in the low district would also be greater than desirable. Seventh—We indorse the action already taken by the city authorities for the ac- quisition of a municipal water supply and recommend that the construgtion of the special fire-protection system and the ac- quisition of a municipal system be car- led out as quickly as. possible. Smilidondl b g DUPONT STREET MAY NEVER BE MADE WIDER THAN NOW Old St. Mary’s Church Stands in the Way, Other Objections Arising. | Much of the time of the City En- gineer’s department is being taken up in considering various schemes sub- mitted by the committees now en- deavoring to readjust the streets in conformity with esthetic plans. That part of the department’s force which has charge of the grades is gathering data for future reference, but the de- partment will make. no suggestions until the final reports are in from cit- izens’ committees. One of the surprises in store for those who are enthusiastic for the widening of Dupont street is the fact that old St. Mary’'s is in the way of the project, especially if the commit- tee’s recommendation to widen from the east side is to be seriously con- sidered. The fact that old St. Mary’s will probably prevent the plan of widening the street from the east |confined him in one of - .| of Oakland. side will please the Dupent Street Improvement Association, which has recommended that the widening be from the west side. The engineers say this side cannot be widened on account of the steep grade: At the City Engineer's office the impression prevails that the final de- NGREE ON PLANS AND PRICES FOR WOVING DEBRIS FROM FIRE AR ALL TRACKS PUT UNDER ONE CONTROL {Railroads Make Arran Thornwell Mullally, chairman of | the sub-committee on transportation, made known to the reconstruction railway companies having terminals established here had reached a defi nite agreement as to the prices they would charge for the removal of de- bris from the burned district. As the railroads have settled this important that have been awaiting their decision may now go to work, and within the week. the removal of debris will begin. committee follows: several meetings with representatives of the transportation companies for the pur- pose of securing some agreement or plan by which dehrfs could be expeditiously removed from the burned district and the result is that an understanding has been reached between these transporta- tion companies, namely, the Southern Pa- cific Company. the United Railroads of San Francisco, the Atchison. Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company and the Ocean Shore Railway Company, by which their temporary tracks laid especially for the purpose of removing debris and also certain of their permanent tracks are to be united under one control and so ope: ated for the purpose of removing debris. and youf committee attaches hereto and makes a part hereof copy of a communica- tion received from said railroad companies which sets forth this arrangement and also the rakes to be charged by them for this service. Your committee, after full investigation, believe that the ar- rangement made will provide as efficient means as can be had for the prompt re- moval of debris and at rates which will closely approximate the actual cost of this work. We are assured by the representa- tives of the railroad companies that these rates are as near to the actual cost of this work as can be estimated beforehand. The present temporary tracks do not extend = sufficiently through the burned carrying away this debris and it will be necessary to extend these tracks with sections of the district, and in order that this may be done to the end that the burned district may be rapidly cleared of all debris it is earnestly desired that there shall be full co-operation on the part of the municipality as well as of all contractors and property owners ested. The companies interested desire to do this work as rapidly.as possible and of course of general interest that such work shall be completed as soon as pos- sible and normal conditions of business restored. Your committee is not advised as to the changes in grade which are proposed ithin the burned district, but in view of the fact that Market street is considerably below grade and also” that other streets may be raised above their present level your committee suggest that the adjacent debris might be used jn filling in and raising these streets #nd thus save to the same time save the expense to the municipality of obtaining material for the purpose of filling in these streets and also expedite this work. Your committee therefore recommend that the proper com- mittees having jurisdiction of the filling in and changing of grades of streets and also the Board of Public Works give this matter immediate attention. OUTLINE OF PLANS. In response to the request that the various transportation committees file with the committee a schedule of rates and an outline of plan for the removal of debris, the Southern Pacific, through E. E. Calvin, vice president and general manager; the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, through A. G. Wells, general manager; the United Railroads, through Thornwell Mul- lally, assistant to the president, and the Océan Shore Company, through J. Downey Harvey, vice president, of- fered the following agreement, which was made a part of Mr. Mullally’s re- port to the reconstruction committe Pursuant to the request of your cox mittee that the several transportatio companies communicate to you In writing their rates and such plans as they deem would be of assistance for removing de- bris from the burned didtrict of San Francisco, the undersigned railroad com- ies, namely, the Southern Pacific the Atchison, Topeka and Gompany, the United Railroads of San Francisco and the Ocean Shore Railway Company, beg to say: In order that the debris may be re. moved as quickly as passible and that the transportation charges to the prop- erty owners should be practicaly at cost, the said companies have united in the following plan and purpose: The undersigned railroads have agreed to place all of their temporary tracks now ar' heréafter.to be constructed for the purpose of remavlnf debris within the limits of the city of San Francisco and also cerfain permanent tracks here- inafter described under the control and n cisco, which company will oper- ate such tracks for the femoval of de- bris from the burned district, Mr J. B. Rogers, chief engineer of the Ocean committee .of forty vesterday that the | question, the hundreds of contractors | The report of the transportation | Your committee on transportation held | district to provide efficient means for| spurs‘as far as practicable to the different | nter- | remove their temporary tracks, as it is| property owners the cost of transporting | !the sgme away over these roads and at mi ement of the United Railroads of | gements Satisfactory to Transportation Body and Promise Speed. Railway Company, being placed in’ charge of this trafie superintendent. Said permanent tracks are as follows The permanent track of the Ocean Shore from Twelfth and Market streets to Army and IHlinois streets, Also the permanent track of the Santa Fe on Illinois street f n suitable ints of conmection with United Rallroads tracks to Marin street, Also such of the permanent tracks of | the United Railroads as are available for necessary, in ogder that the work may be carried out Wil the greatest dispatch and least possibl cost to the lot owners, that bunkers, should be erected along the lines of the railroads at such points throughout the burned district as may be agreed upon, in -order that trains of cars may be | loaded with the least possible delay and |also_that arrangements shall be made for the speedy unloading of cars or trains upon arrival at destination. SCHEDULE OF RATES. Basing operating expenses on proper facilities for rapid loading and unload- ing of cars, the several companies have consented to fix a rate of 15 cents per ton of 2000 pounds for hauling debris. which rate shall apply from any of said bunkers within the burned district to the intersection of Army and Illinois streets, or to any intermediate unloading points which may be established along the de- bris tracks of any of the undersigned rail- road companies; the same te to apply to all dumping grounds similarly situated within the same limits of haul: special rates to be named to any other dumping points. In naming this rate the carload charge shail not be less than 33. and in all cases where the charge would be more. than this minimum charge the rate shall be based upon the marked capacity of the car. In view of the cost to the raiiroad companies of removing scrap irom, et being greater than that of other mate , on account of the long delay neces- sary for loading, it being impossible to load such material through bunkers, the rate on all classes of scrap metal. prop- erly loaded for movement, at points which shall be designated by the trans- rtation companies, has been fixed at 30 cents per ton of 2000 pounds, with | minimum_carload charge of $4. Carload rates on this material shall also be based on the marked capacity of the car. After loads have been delivered at the terminal points, two hours will be the maximum time allowed for unloading cars and for the return of empties to the terminal point. A penalty or demur- rage of twenty cents per car shall be charged for every hour or fraction of an hour of delay over this limit. ' This pen- alty is imposed for the purpose of se- curing the greatest possible dispatch of rolling stock and in order to keep the same in continuous operation, as far as | it is possible to do so, in order that the work of cleaning up may be accomplished as quickly as possible. It shall be understood that all persons loading cars with debris or scrap metal shall provide efficient .means for the | prompt unloading of said cars at dump- ing grounds; otherwise the railroad com- pany may refuse to allow such loading, or to haul the material for which neo means of unloading is provided. TRACKS TO STORAGE YARDS. In case shippers desire to establish | storage yards along any of the debris | tracks, at such points as are agreed upon by and between said shippers and the transportation companies for the purpose of storing salvage, the transportation companies will install necessary tem- porary spur or side tracks to said yards, provided the entire labor cost and ex- pense for installation and removal shall be borne by the party or parties re- questing such connections and that the carload rate to such points shall be the same as the terminal rate hereinbefore named, all necessary rights of way and permits to be procured by parties desir- ing such service; title to all track mate~ rials to remain in . the transportation companies furnishing the same, with the right to remove same at any time after June 1, 1907, or soomer, should it cease to be used for the purpese for which it | was installed. As delivery of material to any such storage yards would interrupt | the debris traffic to a considerable ex- | tent, a switching charge of one dollar per | car shall be made. for each and every car set out at such intermediate points, and the same conditions as to demurrage will apply at such intermediate points as are imposed upon terminal deliveries. It is the purpose of the transportation companies to do everything in their power | to aid the property owners or lessees in | clearing the debris and to make the cost |of the railway service in this connection as low as possible. The above rates .and conditions are |based upon the understanding that any | bunkers that 'may be erected in the | burned district are to be for the use of all contractors, property owners or others, | without discrimination, upon payment of |a reasonable charge to the person erect- | ing the same, sufficient to cover the cost of building. operation and maintenance. The offer of the ::’exsignea railroad companies is, of course, conditioned upon u:eir' being allowed to Sonstruct and oper- ate temporary tracks for the purpose of removing the debris. » ‘ The rates mentioned herein will rem: n in force until the first day of June, 1907. COI cision will be to leave Dupont street’s width just as it is and to make such changes as are to be made there by a cut extending from Bush to Sacra- mento street. If this plan is carried out, there will be bridges over the cross streets between Bush and Sac- ramento. —— Work in Annex Begins. annex ‘to the St. Frahcis on Union Square began yesterday | ing of the mud:sills for the new cara- vansary. Manager James Woods says the new building will be ready for pancy. within forty days. The i1 room‘g_ the hotel proper, and what was: formerly the barber shop, will ‘be used as a restaurant. The from | kitchen of the hotel will be used as before. PRSP e ST Y - Grand Secretary Recovers. . George T. Shaw, grand secretary of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, has re ed from a serious at- by the lay-| 3 —— N READY FOR A CUSTOM-HOUSE Appropriation of $1.500,000, Recently Made, Avail- Regret ;that the Federal buildings in’' San Francisco were damaged by fire, dynamite and earthqpake to the extent .»°‘ nearly three-quarters of a million’ dol is'largely overcome by thé knowledge that the Government, backed by its great resources, has ex- pressed intention not. only to imme- diately replace them in their original condition, but to undertake new work here ‘that will give employment to many statement of the 'k of illness which for many days|th hospitals He made his appearance '|in the grand lodge office yesterday. ! R e e el M.l!ub-uunb’m:to wi Sisystar R in a muhm% on » who were ap- survey the & 7a’blejfor Erection of Imposing New Structure. The work of construction of thel| of April 18 did but little damage to tha Federal buildings in San Franciseco. The subsequent fire destroyed the Sub-Treas- ury building and chambers and library of Judge de Haven in the Postoffice and Courthouse building. and inflicted some damage: on the toffice part . building; but uw’?mot da nl; I‘x‘:’: Postofice and 'Courthouse bullding. wag caused by the use of dynaimte on buildings i the Vieinity. by The destroyed e revenue cutter ion from Con- | Federal build-