Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-03-30
THEY'LL IMPROVE.
PR0FERTY-ewNE ON I STREET so
DECIDE UNANIMOUSLY.
No Conclusion Reached as to the Style
of Roadway that will
be Laid.


be Laid.
There was good attendance of I-stree
property-owners at the Courthouse las
evening.
Judge W. c. Van Fleet presided, and il
calling the meeting to order, briefly ex
planned its object, namely: the improve
ment of l street, either by narrowing it ant
paving with asphalt or by graveling.
D. A. Lindley, one of the most entbusi
astic of the I-street progressionists, ther
took the floor and addressed the meeting
He said:
When we heard that it was the plan of tn,
Trustees to order at the meeting last Monda,
that street should be grayeled, asked then
10 wait and would agree to call meeting O
property holders, and. If necessary, make can
vass OF the street during this week and next
MY idea was that there was every probability
mat an improvement proposition would carry
on that street, and when the Trustees knew
they were dealing with people as anxious a.
themselves that the good work should go on, il
was no more than right that the property hold
ers should have a chance to put their heads to
gether and have some voice in the selection oI
l would like to say that though we NAV differ
in some points with the Trustees, we who are
pushing street Improvement find SO far that
they have shown the true spirit and seem to be
willing to do whatever they are convinced is
for the public good; and so we had no trouble
In getting the matter postponed.
We will no doubt find on l street that there
are three classes of property y-owners-those who
favor no improvement, those who favor gravel.
ing, and those who would like to see Something
better than gravel. hope that those who favor
no improvement will be In hopeless minority.
l myself favor something better than gravel
and hope that the majority will agree with me
and that we will be able to determine satisfac.
torily just what that something is. I would
ask that those who favor gravel give Ms a fair
show to present cur case.
We do not expect to win you all over at once.
We recognize the fact that we are advocating
something entirely new to this community, and
think that there are but few of YOU who have
been figuring as have for over year on what
is best for us to do and what procedure would
be most likely TO lead to the desired end |
would therefore ask that you do not nip our
plan In the bud, but remember that it is
younger than yours and growing, and though
we are willing to put on the gloves with you we
would like to have Knockout blows barred
until we have chance to come up to fighting
weight.
There are some of us who favor asphalt or
bitun.inous rock. We have been told that we
were wasting our time trying to get anything so
costly on any street in this city. To all these
the PERSONAL of l-street property holders or
they would not think il was hopeless and at
any rate that was going to make the attempt
if nine out of ten told me il was no use be
lieve that nothing tried nothing won. and that
not TO try would be defeat before the battle
l was detailed by the President of the I'm
proyement Association about year ago TO can
vass Il street in the interest of a bituminous
rock pavement. declined, but said that there
were patriotic lot of owners on l street and l
would be willing to try them. Who could
blame me for declining the job on street,
when it has been proved so often that gravel is
too Iich for the blood of the bon ton of our city
But to lay little pleasantries aside | must say
that people on H street have had fair cause to
demonstrate, though l maintain there were
some who were i'll circumstances to take ad-
vantage of the law permitting them to do their
own work, and could have better afforded to
pay even the high prices than suffer the dis
grace of living in the mud as they have.
Right here let me say that, except in a few
isolated cases, the wealthy people ON II street
are not to blame. The truth is, there are not so
many front feet of wealth on this street as you
as canV asser for funds for public enterprises,
have found an excellent method to find out
now poor some people are. / will add a test or
SO, and say you have only to send around the
Assessor, the Trustees who have ordered the
street improved or send around our committee
who are virtually endeavo,ing to borrow SlO0
here and there with the probability of being
able to pay pretty respectable per cent on the
rowed money to be used in an enterprise that
promises to put Sacramento on the road and a
maeadamized one at that, to prosperity and po-
sition in the rank of California cities that ma
ture intended for her. When such men as
John Breuner, Mr.. Sellinger, Mr.. Weisel Mr.
smith, the stable-man, and Mr.. Wittenbrock
talk OF the state OF their finances causing them
to hold off, come to the conclusion that there
is something wrong with either them or the
Street Improvement Company. do not like to
be personal in such matters, but think il is
time that the skeleton i'll the closet of Sacra-
mentos S sepulchral dwelling should be taken out
for an airing and some dry bones ratified. be-
leye in having people who are in the way of
improvement aligned where we can see them
in other words, believe they would do lis less
harm In the camp of the enemy than in our
own.
When it becomes necessary for man who is
deyotlug his time and energy with no other
hope OF reward than TO be able to share in the
general prosperity that is sure TO follow his
work, when 1t becomes necessary first to ex-
plain the possibilities of the COM pany and then
wear out his patience calling for subscription on
one OF the wealthiest men in town Tor nearly out
OF town., who has todrive through miles oflnud
to get TO his Office, and when the largest firms
in the city put him off from day TO day week to
week, and actually month to month, with the
excuse that the proprietors live in San Fran
cisco, and have not confidence enough in their
managers to permit them to to use their iudg-
ment in helping public charities or enterprises,
it seems to me they are milking the Sacramento
ayers and their men on skinned milk and Ia :
ing their regular dividend of cream to their
palatlal residences in San Francisco. Water
mouse X Lester and the Sacramento Lum Der
Company are the only foreign corporations
doing business in Sacramento that have SUBJ
scribed one dollar to help us get on that good
paved road to success. You can understand how
we had to literally pull eyeteeth to raise $40 00O
when you remember that we were barred out at
such places as the Huntingtou-H Hopkins Com
pany, Baker Il Hamilton, Holbrook, Merrill d
Stetson, Jones d Giyens, L. S. Adams & Co., and
lastly the Quincy Cab Company, who have
practically no business except what they do on
the streets. This is especially to be deplored
when we remember that this was an enterprise
that proposed to put graveiing within the meaus
of every property holder, and encourage that
properly holder To improve the streets aud pay
for them, the subscribers merely furnishing the
means, brains and energy, and at least n,
nothing less than the cost or loss of the energy.
1t seems as if our wealthy people and business
men conld afford to do this much to help pi op-
erty-holders in their willingness to do work
waenever they can get it done at fair price
We have been doing considerable work TO
help those, who, like the H-street people, COM
planned OF high prices out of their trouble and
we hope that they and all others who favor
gravel viii consider that we have worked hard
10 help them and that they will at least give us
q lair show on bituminous rock or asphalt. IL
is necessary in doing this to give us a show ou
marrow roadways. Mind you, l say roadwa, 5,
not streets. Our streets are mostly eighty ieet
wide. Our roadways are now forty-eight feet,
and we would want them reduced TO thirty or
thirty-five. Ii is utterly hopeless to try for a
forty-eight feet roadway. The Trustees asked
us TO look after street. beyond Twenty first
and it will be TO that district that we will direct
our special attention, though we expect to can
vas from Fifteenth out. 1t may surprise you
when say that have more hope of getting IL
beyond Twenty-first than this side of Twent,
first. II II so happens the people this side wi
have TO hustle and see that they are not out
done IN public spirit by us suburban people.
We have one plan we may have 20 avail our
selves OF before we succeed in getting the street
we want, AID this plan would necessitate a
sort of rivalry in public spirit. What millenui.
um it would pe II we could only start a rivalry
in this direction and kill that which is now
causing so many 10 vie with each other in
abusing the Improvement Association, and IL
TACT every citizen who has been working
against the tide in endeavoring to wake NJ
these very people. i claim that the Association
has done more for this town than many
who abuse it, and challenge any one to abuse
IN my presence or 10 sign their names TO any
communication in the papers. In the language
OF lngersoll, True public spirit goes forth 10
battle unmasked, while petty fault-finding don,
the armor of anonymous communications OIL
blinds Its eyes to the sight of some improve
ment mat 1t should attempt itsei and not de
mand free gratis of public spirit" But marx
my word, the tide has turned, and improve
ment IS bound to prevail. Let street be in The
front OF the procession. The position is there
for US, and we are able to accept it.
In my remarks before the second street i'm
proyement meeting l took into consideration
the fact that time at such meetings is short anC
therefore IN an argument on narrow streets con
fined myself Id controverting the argument tha
TO my mind had most weight, and which hat
found most tenacious in the minds OF the oppo
ncnts OF the plan, nancy, the objection Il