The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-06-19
SIDE SEWERS.
A Municipal Law That May Work
Great Injustice.
Business Transacted at Yesterdays Meeting
Of the Street Committee of the
Board of Supervisors.

The Spring Valley Water Company noti-
fed the Street Committee of the Board of
Supervisors yesterday that all objections to
lowering the grade of Cortland avenue,
so far as the company is concerned, had
been removed. The company will lower its
pipe &nd agree to the grade desired by the
people.
Mrs. Caroline Wilson protested against
the Santa Cruz Rock Paving Company be-
ing allowed to pave kissing street, between
Eleventh and Twelfth, giving as her reason
that the cOmpany's agents signed the names
of some of the property-owners in order to
obtain the contract The matter went over
one week to give Mrs. Wisol a chance to
produce witnesses in support of her charge
The Point Lobos Improvement Club
asked to have the fences removed from
around the Bay District Race-t track, so that
the streets that it now obstructS may be
opened and extended.
In reply to statements that the Southern
Pacific Company owned the property and
refused to take away the fences, j. j. Haley,
for the company, said that the property IS
owned by Senator Stanford and the Cr0cker
estate, and that the fence was not put there
by the Bay District Association. Ii the
residents so desire they can remove it, the
company will not object He further stated
that the owners of the property were con-
sidering the project of filing i'll the who-e
tract.
ACTION DEFERRED.
The matter was laid over for thirty days
to give the club a chance to arrange matters
satisfactorily with the owners.
c. c. Buffers protest against the grading
and sewering OF Point Lcb2s avenue, be-
tween Twenty-seVenth and IhIrty-SecUnd,
will be reported adversely.
SuDerVlSCr BUTllDg criticized severely the
action Of the rich property-0wners IN stop
ping the paving of Essex street. 1t is in a
wretched condition. and he does not under
stand how they get to their homes; yet the
moment the city undertook TO improve it
they rushed in with protests and will delay
the work six months.
While discussing this and incidental mt
tiers the subject was raised of putting in
side sewers every twenty-five feet, IN COM
uliance with recent law passed by the
board, in all cases where new sewers are
being laid
Burling said he had been all over the city
watching sewer construction, and the law
| had not been observed in one single in
| stance, except possibly one case where
| prOperty-OWuer had made special request
! for side sewer "Now. what a farce it
makes of this board" said Mr.. Burling.
when our orders are 50 hagrantly ignored
as in this case"
A CONTRACTORS OPINION.
"Why," lie continued, II was talking with
! one of the contractors out in the Western
| Addition, the otter dav; his name is FitZ-
! gerald; and he told me / must be green if /
thought that law would ever be carried out.
| He said the property-OwnerS wouldn't have
| 1t. and it would be no use TO push it any
! further.
"The wisdom of that law never can be
| questioned, it seems 10 me. Now here Is an
| Illustration of it right at hand. On Front
| street, where that fine new stradamant pave
| ment has been put down, all the Side-Sewer
! connections have not been made. We have
! just tOund out that prOperty-owner must
| have one. OF cQutSe that pavement must be
| cut, aud II never can be replaced as good as
new"
Superintendent Gilleran argued that 1t was
too great hardship on small property-hOld-
ers to make that law universally applicable.
mo use talking" he added, they wont
stand it, and | can see that in great many
cases they should not be required to. For
instance, suppose a man has a lot forty feet
wide. Should he be required to pay for
side sewers every twenty-five feet? And
yet the law makes no provision for such
cases, which we come across every day OF
our lives"
"WeH," interpOsed Chairman Taber. who
is the author Of the law, and insists that it
is good Que, all sEch cases should come
before the committee, and we could easily
give them a special privilege 20 construct
only such as the size Of their lots required.
BLOOD MONEY.
"Oh, yes" replied the superintendent,
quickly, that looks like a part of the
scheme. Every person who asks for such a
privilege must plank down his little $40 in
gold before he leaves this room to pay the
Stock Report for advertising it. He might
| as we'll have the two sewers BUILT will
| cost leSs-athough he does not need them
| any more than a Supervisor needs two
| heads; in fact. not near so much. | insist,
! gentlemen, that that law in hundreds of
! cases will mean nothing but blood money
| for that sheet, the Stock Report, and this
| board is lending itself to the outrageous
! Job"
None of the committee had thought If
| this before, and it stunned them little.
| They maintained that their only anxiety
was to protect the city's good pavements,
| ard unless that law is enforced such pro-
| lection cannot be had.
The discussion was finally dropped with
| Taber'S remark that something must be
! done to remedy those defects, for the law
| in principle is a good one.
| Proceedings were ordered under way to
open and extend Bartlett. Capp, Shotwell,
| Treat, Harrison, Florida, York aud Hamp-
| shire streets to Army, so that the sewers in
| those streets can be connected with the
| Army-street sewer.
An adverse report will be made on the
petition to have Olive avenue expunged
| from the official maps