The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-06-29
The Grand Jury's Action
Commended.
OLD STANDING COMPLAINTS.
The Time Ripe for the Citizens
TO Join Issue.
A RULE AS VILE AS TwEED's.
Representative Men Give Their Opin-
ions Regarding the Necessity
of Reforms.
The old things change aud give place to new,
a NJ Cod fnItLIs l,Irn sels in many 1xaus

vailing across the bay in favor of honest
local government continues TO gain force
in anything like the same ratio that it has
done since the County Grand Jury pre-
scented It's memorable report, then the
time Is not far distant when the present
state of things will cease to exist
The offices have almost entirely been
prizes for the spoilsmen and the admins
tratiOn of affairs has been dictated by the
professional politician. People might OBJ
ject-nay, they might abhor the scandal
ous doings. faint echoes of which filtered
through the press and were more or less
readily banded about from mouth TO
mouth. But what could they do? A band
of red tape eavirons the Office-holder be
he ever so small parsonage in an official
sense, and now to break through this
potent barrier was beyond the compre-
hension of the ordinary citizen. "What
was everybody's business was nohody's
business" and for lack Of unanimity abuses
continued unrebuked, and officials en-
gagged in the probably enjoyable business
of sQuaudering the public moneys-.there
being shrewd suspicion. also, that they
did so With considerable profit to them
selves-vere left undisturbed.
Times are changing; reforms are in the
air, and the people with experience ripened
by bitter knowledge are each day becom-
ing more eagerly willing to combine
against corruption and robbery wherever it
may be found or under whatever guise of
lawful procedure it may be hidden.
That this is no roseate picture vas more
than proved when CALL representative
made a tour of the business houses of
Oakland yesterday. No dissentent voice
was heard; all alike desired reform in the
county and municipal admin istration, and
though individually impotent heretofore
they TO man realize that. in some measure
at least, the Grand Jury have given them
an opportunity to initiate and introduce
reforms which they hope will eliminate in
the city and county being purged of its
many abuses, and they are not few.
Said a merchant: in both city and.
county the corruption and general malad-
ministrahon of affairs has been as demon
alizing and absolutely rotten as New York
City in the days of the Tweed ring" The
statement was strong, but according to the
consensus OF opinion has been fully war
ranted By the facts.
In their effurts TO escape from the octo-
pus.like grasp of the great railroad mo
nO1ly he people across the bay have met
with measurable amount of success
chat has evidently inspire them with
the courage to second the efforts Of the
Grand Jury. and by strong and healthy
public sentiment encourage the proper
officials in the proceeding to he instituted
against
D. w. MARTIN,
BART MORGAN,
W. s. PELOUZE,
HIRAM BAILEY,
the four Supervisors charged with willful
misconduct and neglect of duty. and
T. @. DANIELS. editor Of the Alameda
ARGUS"
j. Z. BARBER. editor of the Alameda
statesman"
who received S1326 80 for an amount of
work that would have been expensive at a
1.-THE III that amount.
The true inHardness Of the deal be
tween the four Supervisors and the editors
OF the respective papers ought net to be
difficult to fathom. 1t is common gossip
that the authorization for the advertising
af tile government and county proclama-
tiOns for the election of November last
was merely the friendly intimation of one
person to another. aud was altogether
lacking in the true authorization by the
bgGlu AtIutSu ny Jaw u CulIUuo
of the difficulty is the escape of Supervisor
Plunkett from being included in the sweep
ing animadVersionS OF the Grand Jury
He is serving his first term as Supervisor.
and, truly or not, is credited with an
honesty of purpose that would not bend
to the unsaYory> methods of his brother
Supervisors. They have had long expert
ence, and never having been ousted from
or3 borr octa ne If had a lion m
their official chairs and did not receive
them in trust from and for the people.
While Supervisor Plunkett is praised for
the stand he is supposed to have taken in
the matter, it is considered generally that
even he would have cut better figure be-
fore his constituents il he had openly con-
demned the underhand work that was
going on at the time.
While it is reasonably certain that suits
will be instituted 10 remove the four Su-
pervisors from Office and recover the sum
of $685. it is quite uncertain when pro-
ceedings will be commenced. District t.
torney Shocks is holiday-making in the
country. aud Deputy Melvin is reticent on
the M ~. but certain it is that in the near
future will be commenced legal proceed
iDrs. during the hearing of which much
light will be thrown upon the corruption
in Office of more than the accused officials
AT least that is the present belief, and it
may be added hope, for the responsible
taxpaying public across tie bay are desir-
GUS that in rectifying this one abuse a
precedent may be established and a clean
sweep made OF the abuses about which
such constant COMPLAINT is being made.
Meantime the accused parties rest con-
tent They maintain their innocence of
wrong-doing and boldly assert that they
acted within the letter Of the law. AS sew
eral legal luminaries sustain them in the
stand they have taken they are con fdent
of coming out all right.
The citizens have anticipated such a
contingency, however, and not unwisely
say that while it is impossible with fin te
laws 20 cover an Infinite variety of crimes
means must be devised and laws passed
by which offiee-hoders of all kinds will be
held to strcter account. To wed justice
and law more closely together is the need.
Some very clearly defined ideas On the
subject now agitating the public mind may
be cleaned by perusal of the following
utterances of the following representative
men-men having large interests and who
pay heavy taxes and who form little
group selected from a multitude who prac-
tically are as one with them:
MIR. Gardiner of the firm of Torrey. Whit