The morning call., 1891-08-09
THE STREET DEPARTMENT REPLIES.

Mr.. Edward Owens, Deputy Street Super
intendcut, speaking for the department in
the absence of Superintendent Gilieran,
geuially remarks that a recent article in
TIE GAIL on the attempt of his office TO
uUct OpcrtY-Owners in the Western Ad-
dition fur the benefit of the BituminouS
Paving Company is the most venOmOuS and
vet absurd editorial he had ever read. lie
adds:
Il IS a well-kBown fact that the Superintendent
uCyer recommends street work except upon the
TecCmG eHdaIlOn Of some property-owners or In
extreme cases.
Pre- iselv the contrary is known. On
quite recent occasion notice was posted of
TIE intention Of the department TO pave
With biiuminous rock block which, un-
der orders from the same department, was
paved with macadam only eighteen months
ago. A pToperty-Uwner called at the Office
OF The Street Department to inquire into the
circumstances. He was told that the lot
owners on the block had petitioned for the
biuninous pavement. He inquired who
these petitioners were. He was answered
that the department has something else to
dn besides remembering peoples names.
lie asked if the deputy with whom he was
cunyersing or any one else in the depart
n.ent could give him the name Of one man
WHO had signed a petition for the btu
mlnOus pavement. The reply was that if
the department had TO keep record of the
names of those who asked for street i'm
movements il would require an army of
clerks. Thus baffled, the inquirer visited
the lot-owners on The block and found that
not one Of them was in favor OF the btu
minuus job, and that every one of them was
ready TO sign 4 protest against 1t.
This is only one case. At the last meet
ing Of the Street Committee a majority Of
the l0t-Owners in the following blocks filed
protests against the attempt of the Street
Department to tax them for the benefit of
the paving company and the contractors:
Paving on Hilbert, from stockton to Powell;
paving OF Page, from Cough 10 OctayIa;
paving OF the crossing of Webster and Post;
grating Of Fifteenth avenue, from Point LObos
avenue 10 Lake street; paving OF Page, from Bu-
chanan 10 W ebster; paving OF Post, from Web
ster 10 Fillmore; paving OF The crossing OF Web
ster and O'Farrell; also Of Eddy. from Laguua
10 Buchanan; also OF Castro, from Fig hteenth to
Nineteenth; also Of Webster. from Clay TO WASH
ington; also OF Webster. from Ellis to O'Farrell:
also of Webster, from Geary to o. Farrell; also of
Buchanan, from Hayes 10 fell; also from Turk 10
Golden Gate avenue.
A mile of paving which was not needed
has thus been stopped. for six months at
any rJte. At the next meeting of the Street
Committee another avalanche of protests
vii! be showered on the members.
There are some things which cannot be
done even with the seeming sanction of
law. Men will not submit to have their
prnperty taken from them by a parcel of
n.cn in ard around the City Hall, though
tie men have managed to get acts passed at
Sacramento which appear to legalize their
schemes Of plumber. When it comes to the
point they will fall back on the Declaration
Of Rights and will make a fight for that
which is their own. There are ways of de-
feating a law which is being used for the
spolialion Of honest citizens to enrich COM
panies. politicians and impecunious news
papers.
The purpose of the law under which the
Street Department is acting was TO prevent
ore siingy curmudgeon who happened to
own lot from standing in the way of the
improvements which his neighbors wanted.
lis trainers intended 10 leave the control of
the Improvements Of block to the majority
o. the owners on the block; reasoning that
their own interest wodld always prompt
them to secure good pavements and coed
sewers as far as their means allowed. This
was the Interpretation that Ashworth put
upon ihe'law, though he, TOO, at times, was
not able 20 Withstand the pressure of con-
tractors and recommended improvements
which were premature. But Giileran and
his associates interpret the law as giving
them supreme authority over the streets,
without regard TO the wishes of property
owners. They do not avOw this On the
contrary, Mr.. Owens says they only act in
compliance with the requests of property
owners. Unfortunately the facts do not
bear Ut MI. Owens assertions, and people
are percriving that they are not more to be
Believed t'an the statements of his little
newspaper organ.
Happily this is land of law, and tie
law leans TO the side of equity. Whenever
il IS made apparent TO n court that street
improvement which the department orders
nj the cost of prnperty-owners who do not
want il is obviously for the purpose of
putting money into The pockets of conirac-