The morning call., 1893-10-06
THE PILE FENCE.
Mr.. Croker Explains Its
Object.
A SITE FOR WAREHOUSES;.
IncreduIity Is Expressed by
Oakland Attorneys.
70 ESTABLISH A Bio CLAIM.
An Immense Area of Navigable
Wafer 0f fhe Raw Taken
TO ESTABLISH A Bio CLAIM.
An Immense Area of Navigable
Water of the Bay Taken
From Public Use.

Oakland Is fenced in; not on land this
time, where the strong arms of citizens
might pull down the distractions. but by
sea-. From the end of the broad-gauge
mole of the Southern Pacific row of piles
has been driven close together at the north
training wall, and from the south training
wall the row has been continued as far as
the eye can reach. in a semicircle, way to
Alameda.
In four days has this work been done.
A half dozen steam pile-drivers were at
work continuously upon 1t, as if in haste
TO complete the task before somebody in
terfered. Citizens of Oakland have won
dered what it meant. They saw every bit
of their water front except that accessible
by the creek route and small portion north
of the broad-gauge mole hemmed in by
barrier way out to sea. and they asked the
reason.
Viee-President Crocker Of the Southern
Pacific Railroad Company told CALL re-
porter yesterday why it was being done.
He said:
.. 1--WE are simply running the lines and
stalking them out along the edge of our
property to facilitate future work. In
time the entire property now covered with
water and within the piles which have
been driven will all be filled in, graded and
covered with tracks. warehouses and other
buildings"
Mr.. Crocker added that the proposed
improvement would result in great benefit
to the city of Oakland as well as to the
railroad company.
'If the residents of Oakland" continued
Viee-President Croeker, "had not so per-
sistently fought US in years that are past
and hampered US in our endeavors to i'm
prove that property there would have been
no Port Costa"
These remarks caused the attorneys for
the city of Oakland to express surprise
They had been puzzled when they first
heard that the railroad was fencing in the
bay and had let the matter go by saying
that 'the railroad company is ratified and
= will probably drive few piles and then
stop work"
But now they see solid wallfof timber
stretching for miles along the water front !;
they see the entire harbor of Oakland
south of the broad-gaGge mole. except that
accessible by the creek route, walled in
and the waters of the bay made impassable
for boats. Moreover they see :hat boards
ere being nailed from pile TO pile so that
even fishing smacks and skiffs will be shut
out of this great expanse OF water and
they are now awake to the fact that bold
move is being made by the corporation
which they are engaged to fight.
The attorneys for the city of Oakland in
all this waterfront litigation are Messrs.
Davis & Hill. Powell & Pringle and City
Attorney johnson.
William r. Davis returned Wednesday
from Chicago and he was asked last night
by CALL reporter what he believed
the railroad company was up to. Vice.
President Crocker's words were quoted to
him.
81 hardly think the vice-president can
be in earnest" said Mr.. Davis. 81 don't
believe they will go to the expense of
putting in wharves and filling in, for they
would have to rip it all up again. TO be-
sure they have gone to great expense in
placing these piles, but think that move
was in order to claim all they could when
they went into court.
Although the Chicago decision clearly
defines the rights of corporations and in
dividuals along the water front, yet it also
owning land above but adjacent to high
water shall have all the reasonable ad-
vantages of wharfage to enable them to
reach navigable water. The Southern
Pacific is evidently going to claim the
entire side of the bay as necessary to it
and 90 into court asking for it all. in hopes
that it will get more than it would other
wise.
"But as far as fencing In this vast
amount of navigable water and water
front land it is nonsense. 1t might as well
tow raft of logs out to the Cliff House,
take some steam-drivers out there and lay
a row of piles across the Golden Gate. II
would only have to take them up; it will
have to do the same here; the difference is
only one Of time.
sit seems to me brilliant opportunity
for the United States Government to step