The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-09
A RING THAT ISA RING.
The Printing Boodlers Are in
Full Sway.
LOTS Oh EASILY GAINED SWAG.
StreetWOrk Notices That Cost More
Than the StreetWOrk.
A GOOD CHANCE FOR TIE FEDERATION
If It Could Do Nothing to Stop the
Steal 1t Might Interest the
Grand Jury.


Hay and Cherry streets
This pleased Property-owner Gallagher
very mueh He knew that it would make
his 25x100 lot worth little more money
than it was before the goats used to browse
in the middle of the street
1t was not going to cost very much. That
was the beauty of it. 1t was going to be
cheap job. Anybody could see that.
When it was estimated that there would
be 400 cubic yards of grading and that it
would cost about $50, Property-owner Gal
lagher smiled again.
"That shows what little money will dc"
said he.
He laughed and went and told his neigh
bors.
i've been fighting you folks for whole
wear to get this work through" said he,
good-naturedly "and now it's nearly done,
and it'll cost us about So head. What do
you think of that?"
Every good" said an older man than Gal
lagher, but that don't include the cost of
printing and engineering. does it?"
"Well, perhaps not. But what will the
printing and engineering amount to On an
$50 job? ?"
"WeIl, we'il see," said the older man.
"See? Why. it can't be more than S. or
s8, at the very outside. What's few lines
stuck away in the corner Of cheap. wishy-
washy, evening paper going to eoStP Why,
they put in bid TO the Supervisors to do
the work free OF charge. And what does
the unwinding and winding up OF tape
measure and the putting down OF few
pegs in the ground amount to? Eight
dollars would be big charge for such petty
service"
"Oh, yes; quite agree with you"
"What are you talking about?" and Gal
lagher strobe down the street happy man.
1t took but short time to cart away the
earth and lay the eurbs and pavements. 1t
was neat job. Gallagher asked the con-
tractor what his total charge was going to
be for the job.
The man took pencil and piece OF pa
per.
..Seventy-four dolIari and sixty cents" be
said.
Gallagher chuckled. He was an economi-
cal man. He had to be, because he was a
poor man.
THAT beats $50 little." he said to him.
self.
.'But then there's the printing and engin-
eering," said the contractor.
.'Ob. yes; but that wont amount to any
thing"
81 don't know. You can't always tell.
I've seen cases where the printing cost
more'n than the work.
Gallagher laughed.
This can't be one of them," said ne. con-
fdently. Suppose we should make lib
eral estimate and put the prlntl Dg at per
cent and the engineering at o. That would
only be 81 46.
Gallagher went to his iron-molding When
he came home in the evening there was his
bill for the grading. He looked at it and
turned red in the face.
"Some mistake about that" he said.
They've chucked in an extra cipher or
something"
asked deputy in the Street Department to
tell him what the work at Hay and Cherry
streets was to cost the property-ownets.
The deputy hunted up the papers.
sit costs S155 25."
This made Gallagher's hair stand up.
"What are the items?" he asked in
faint voice.
''Wen, there's STA 60 for the grading"
Eyes; that's all right"
"Then there's S2S for the engineering"
Gallagher whlstled.
''And $50 90 for the printing"
Gallagher leaned back against one of the
stuffed walls of the building. His head
fell back against the fraud plaster work
and his foot resounded on the sand-cement
flooring.
jumping Jupiterp' he gasped.
whats the matter?' asked the deputy.
thinking the man was going to faint, and
grasping up one of the thin certificate books
in which street inspectors swear that To-
inch sewer pipe is Is inches in the clear
and that the Y's that are left out are all in,
and going over to him to fan him with the
cover.
"Oh, nothing" said Gallagher, braeing up
and steadying himself on pile of contract
books which call for the laying of poutice
pavements and the best salt glazed sewer
pipe instead of the lines of cement barrels
that are laid in the streets. Nothing"
The deputy turned away to put the seal
of the departments approval upon piece of
| bitumen work Inspected by coifee-walter
| from Stevenson street, and Gallagher, walk
| ing slowly out of the hall, figured as he
| walked.
"IPs been some time since / went to
school," ne said to himself, "bnt If it cost
| SIS IS for the printing and engineering OF
| that job, and only S74 go for the job itself,
| why that leaves difference of S4 05 in fa-
vor of the thieves-I mean the gentlemen
who do the printing and engineering; II
must be profitable business"
"Yes, it's profitable business" said a
| neighbor of hfs; altogether too profitable,
| should say. for those who are not in il. :"
''Sorry am glad that am not in it, said
! Gallagher.
Then he and his neighbors talked it all
/ over. They wondered how such an out
rage could be successfully perpetrated IN
this great city. They talked about 1t foi
| nearly week.
/ Then they paid the S74 60 for the work
and the SIS IS extortef from them by the
| printing and the engineering rings and said
no more about 1t.
They saw it was useless to growl; that
the bill was authorized by the Mayor and
the Supervisors and that they were In grea
luck that some one did not come and juml
their claims or tear up the street.
Now the Cherry-street outrage Is also th(
| Clay-street outrage, the Sutter-street steal
the Ridley-street robbery, the F0lsom-stree
inquity and the Franklin-street fraud.
All the proDerty-owners who have street
work to be done are at the mercy OF the
| Printing Ring.
tits ring that is ring.
1t robs right and left.
1t is just as likely to charge as much fol
its alleged services as the streetwork ltsell
| is worth, as 1t is to charge some other out
rageous price that does not seem so high.
1t is based on burning desire for Doodle,
and Doodle 1t gets every time.
The property-owners may groan and shake
their heads-they may even swear and yei
dumping Jupiter" as Gallagher did, but
so far as they can see, they are poWerless.
The licensed beodlers have them on the
hip. They are permitted by the city off
cials, though without shadow of lega
right, to tax the people what they please.
The flim-fam paper that charges property.
owners 81 20 square for streetworl
notices, by authority of the Doodle gang Al
the new City Hall, is glad to get 20 cents {
square for any other sort OF advertising
and would be even for this kind If it wert
not in with the ring and supported by it.
Property owners should bear well 10 mine
that The whole proceeding is illegal-tha
the paper to which the advertising is givel
has no right in law to charge them any
thing.
Whenever enc Of these exLortionate bill
is presented the property-owner should con
suit a reputable attorney and get his adyle
| hefnra having il That attorneY or an