The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-04-28
\ VETO IGNORED.
Railroad Work Is Started
Without a Franchise.
ACCOMPANIES STRANGE CLAIM.
The Superintendent of Streets Orders
the Work Stopped-The Builders
Will Sue for an Injunction.

Chief Deputy Superintendent of Streets
Larry Welch tumbled out OF his chair yes
terdaY afternoon when lie received tele-
phone communication that gang of men
were employed in breaking the ground aud
laying a track at Harbor View for railroad
for which there was no franchise.
where's my buggy?" he said, "Pll stop
this work or arrest the men right away"
and forthwith he departed for the scene
where the law was being violated. Subse-
quently it turned out that the news was
true.
Workmen were engaged in laying street
railroad at Harbor View, and they were
doing the work under the direction of
company, whose attorneys had carefully
considered the matter. Yet the franchise
they were acting under had been vetoed by
the Mayor, and the veto had been sustained
by the Board of Supervisors.
1t transplred that the legal ground under
which they proposed to act WAS the same as
the ground on which Supervisor Rogers re-
Gently claimed that the Mayor had no right
to veto a water ordinance, and after 1t
passed the board II became a law.
The railroad company mentioned will
=, con end that the Board of Supervisors
legally passed its franchie. and although it
was vetoed, the Mayor having no power TO
do so. the franchise still stands good.
The franchise mentioned was one of
those patches OF special privileges which
were rushed through the old Board of Su-
pervisors toward Its close, and which cul-
minated III the famous midnight session at
the end Of The year, the session lasting till
the last stroke of the clock had announced
that the year was dead.
The petitioners for the franchise were
Louis f. Dunand, W. II. G. Fowler and
John w. Eisunbath, and they asked for the
right of way 10 build road commencing at
the corner of Twenty-ffth street and Po-
treTO avenue, thence to Harrison, TO
Twenty-secOnd. TO Folsom. to Seventeenth,
to Dolores, to Market. across Market to Oc-
tavia, TO Fulton, TO Buchanan, to Eddy, TO
Steiner, to Greenwich, to Broderick, 10 JET
tersOn, to the Government reservation.
The order was mum bered 1898. According
to the records of Clerk Russell it was
passed TO print on November II, 1892, by
the following vote: Ayes-Burling Curtis,
Aver, Carnes, Coffee, Hunt, Taber and VIII
kinsOn; nOes-Ariigues, Ebert and Heyer
The order granting the franchise was
finally passed on December 10 and sent to
the Mayor on the Goth for his approval.
Under the law he had ten days in which to
veto measure, ana thu time in this case
commenced to run from December p.
On December 80 Mayor SandeTson sent in
the order without his approval. His veto
message was not acted upon by the board
at its final midnight meeting, and the sub
ject-matter passed over to the jurisdiction OF
the new board.
On February the new board took up
Mayor Sanderson's veto of the Dnnand-
Fowler franchise, and sustained it, thereby
making the order totally invalid.
These facts were gathered from the
records and show that the franchise was
defeated.
Now Notwithstanding the veto of Mayor
Sanderson, which was sustained. Fowler
and Dunand still propose to build their road,
and during the last few days have actually
broken ground to emphas re their cOnten-
tlon of the validity of their franchise. This
contention is based on the claim recently set
up that the Mayor has no right to veto
water ordinance, only Fowler and Dunand
60 further and deprive him Of the right TO
veto franchise order.
The breaking of the ground at Harbor
View has been only done TO make a test
case and bring the matter before the courts,
where the point can be settled. The Super
intendent Of Streets has stopped the work,
but the company proposes to enjoin him
from interfering.
When reporter visited the scene of the
breaking of the ground for the new road
late in the afternoon it was found that the
grading was being done along Baker street,
near jefferson. The grading had been COM
meuced.
force of twenty or thirty men were at
work shoyeling up the roadway and laying
the ties in position. No rail had been put
down. however.
The street had been graded for nearly the
entire block, and the ties were laid when
Deputy Nelch arrived on the scene.
Mr. Dunand, who was experimenting CD
eralions Tor the company, received the
der TO stop work and Immediately called of
his men.
There was no friction of any sort, and
everything was done quietly, Dunand evil
IDENTIFY having expected a visit from the
Street Superintendent Office.
The deputy order was to the effect that
work should stop immediately, and that
the portion OF the road already finished
should be torn up and the land regarded
within the period of three days.
Said Louis L. Dunand, an attorney and
one of the three to whom the franchise was
granted: I'VE hold that tile Mayor has no
legal right whatever to put a veto on a
matter Of this sort that has been passed by
the Board Of Supervisors.
They granted us this franchise under
which we have begun work.
I'VE will probably fight this matter in the
courts and very likely our course will be 10
get out an injunction.
The legal defense we intend to employ
will be found in the Civil Code and | am
confident that no flaw can be found in it.
In case we get out In injunction we
have received the promise OF two solid men
to act as snTelies, namely A. =. Hotaling
and 2. o. Rohrbacher"
Mayor Ebert had just returned from Sac
ranento, and knew nothing of the railroad
company's action until apprised OF the fact
by 4 reporter OF The CALL.
He had evidently known that something
Of the sort was going to be done though,
rs he told the reporter he had no definite
plan of action as yet
Il anticipated this action on the part of
the company, and warned MIR. Ackerson
some time ago to be ready for it,
The franchise was passed by the Board
of Supervisors in Mayor Sanders0n's time,
and he vetoed it.
III the company wants to test the power
of Mayors veto | am prepared to show
them what that power amounts to-"
II is very likely that Dunand and
Fowler will bring injunction proceedings