The morning call., 1892-07-13
ASTENCH In OAKLAND.
It Comes From the Rotten
City Council.
4 GOOD FRANCHISE OPPOSED.
1t Would Give the People a COmpet-
Ing Ferry Line.
That Is Exactly Why the COuncllmen
Will Not Favor 1.-THE Pub.
lie Pulse.

Next Monday will be day full Of great
possibilities for Oakland.
The City Council will then meet to decide
whether or not there is to be competing
ferry line.
J. L. Davle and others have built wharf
at the foot of Harrison street, Oakland, and
have asked for a franchise to run an cleo
tfc railroad along Harrison street to Four
teenth. to Franklin, to Broadway, and along
Broadway to the city limits.
As THE CALLS readers know the South
ern Pacific Company has fought this enter
prise from the very start
Why has it fought?
Because il now has a complete monopoly
OF the bay ferries.
Eight thousand cOmmutation tickets at So
apiece is S24, coo month.
And that represents less than one-third OF
the income from all sources.
It has been estimated that the railroad
company's revenue from the ferries is Suffi-
eient to operate The Central Pacific all the
way TO Ogden.
Even though 1t were considerably lese
than this, there is, judging simply from tbs
enormous travel. vast revenue derived from
this source.
The Southern Pacific is determined that
nobody shall gain share of that revenue
1t wants TO keep il all for itself.
This is natural enough, but when It comes
to resoTting to trickery, TO the buying up Of
city officials and all that sOrt Of thing, In
order to maintain its power, then the people
feel that they have q right to protest.
This is what the people are now doing.
and never before have they protested so
!, data rrftH Hf7Qfi
In order to head of Davie, Southern Pa
cific gang is trying to work through the City
Council Of Oakland scheme by which 1t
Will get franchise over Harrison street,
barring Davie out Six Of the II Council
men favor this scheme.
The opposition franchise is asked Tor by
NJ. Alslp and B. SteDman, who are known
to have close Southern Pacific affiliations.
SteinmRn is the keeper of the big railroad
restaurant at the Sacramento depot.
Then there are others in the scheme who
are connected with the Farmers and Me
ehanics' Bank, we'll known IN Sacramento
IS the railroad bank.
If the Councilmen are willing to show
any fairness. If they are willing to listen to
the demands Of the people OF Oakland, if
they are willing to let themselves 60 on
record for Once as opposed to the grasping
greed of monopoly, they will give the fran
cbise 10 Davie.
II they are willing to set the peoples
wishes al defiance, TO tell the world by their
acts that they are the creatures of the rail-
road. and that they are working in the in
terests Of the railroad, and are directly OD-
posed 10 the people, they will give the fran
ehise to the railroad crowd.
Dave applied fOr his franchise six hours
In advance of any other person or corpora
tiGn.
The CouDcilmen know this, and they
know, too, that If they should be brazen
enough to give the franchise to the railroad
crowd 10 line would be built on Har-
ris0n street
Take g look at the railroad situation In
Oakland.
The Seventh-street and Webster-street
steam railway lines of the Southern Pacific
Company have large number Of street
railway lines for feeders.
The Southern Pacific controls all the lines
in Oakland, except the HayWards Electric
and the Grove-street line.
all the lines give the steam railroads OF
the Southern Pacific passengers and the
more street lines that are built the more
passengers the Southern Pacific Will get,
provided always that no opposition ferry
shall be stablshed.
Davies company proposes TO give San
Francisco and Oakland a frst-ciass ferry
seTylce-something that they have not at
the present time.
The old arks that are run across the bay
as ferry steamers are as far behind the lat
est patterns Of ferry-boats as the old horse
cars are behind the electric cars.
IL Dawes company gets the franchise 1t
will build two $50 600 steel ferry screw
stegmeTs-double enders-that will maka
the trip between pier and pier in much less
time than the Old boats Of the Southern Pa
eifc.
And the line will get plenty Of patron age.
Of course the Southern Pacific does not
want this sort Of thing to spring into ex-
istence.
1t will spend s1OO.O0O before it will per-
NIT 1t to do so.
Even if the railroad crowds franchise
should result in the actual construction Of
gnother electric line, how would il benefit
Oakland compared with the benefits which
competition would give the town?
All things considered, the Council has no
right to ignore Davies request for fran
chlSe.
If IL does so it will fan to white heat the
name that has begun TO burn in Oakland
Public Indignation will not brook anv
more of these official attacks on the people's
best interests
The people are aroused to such pitch. Z"
said prominent citizen Of Oakland yester-
Gay, mat they will not stand any more Of
tnese lntamles. The fact that our Citv
council has been run by the railroad Is now
so notorious that il is as plain as print.
do not see how the Counclmen can dare to
continue to fly in the face of the people in
.hIs way. Ii they do L am sure that Oak
before the end Of the present summer 7
should not be at all surprised II tar and
feathers were used before we got to the end
of this" 04'u
Tar and feathers" are ugly words.
But those words are used freely in Oak
land Just now.
1t is not possible for the people to endure
any more Of the insults and the infamv
heaped upon the fair name of Oakland by
the acts of its Councilmen.
Let them choose between railroad gold
On one side and decency on the other.
Perhaps the people may find II necessary
10 force them to be decent but thew prefer
TO let them choose the right side while there
Is still chance '-'A0
In the past the railroad has run the Coun-
Gil as easily as turning a crank.
Whatever else is done, the City Council
cannot wipe out its black past.
nhat rank state of thingsi
One Is In doubt which IL affects roost
strongly-the nOstrils or the stomacb '-'0''
.: i. DAVE said yesterday:
Inere Is no hope for our francbiso IT,.
Councllmen say they will Kill IL 0ne
thing Is sure, that if could get II tbrongb
0y the expenditure of as small a snn1 ss
SlOO would not spend the monev tc h~I,
them np: On the other hand. the onno
siton will not scruple to use monov oppo, ~
plenty of ii. or course thav will Nh
lhey always 90. had hopes for the
scheme once, and have spent considerable
money building that wharf, but / now see
that the Council will do nothing .6pr ns 7,
oeiones 10 the railroad, or at least a ma.