The morning call., 1893-03-27

propprty-owners yesterday as to the extent
TO W hich the assessments had been paid. 1t
was found to be surprisingly small. Al
though threatened by the addition of heavy
percentage to the amount asked for by the
bOOdleTs the owner of the little cot
tagP out IN the threatened district held firm
and would not pay, even where the amount
was small.
a few Of his neighbors paid, being fright
ened into 1t, and declaring that they would
rather permit of the sacrifice than to have
the titles TO their property clouded by the
unpaid assessments.
Aside from the Mission and Potrero there
were the Van Ness avenue, Post street, the
Market-street extension and a few other
jobs.
This is what the jobbery would have cost
the people had not the Mission Real-estate
Owners Union "seen" our lawmakers and
interested them In the good work of stop
ping the fraud and throwing the boodling
Commissioners out of Office:
Potre venue job................ S24I zoe
Nineteenth to Twenty third
street J b...........,..,............ 100, 444
PoHt-street JOB. ..................-.. 7O,5O3
Twenty fifth and Twenty-sev-
enth avenue jobs.,.............- 34,O22
Sixteenth-street job.............. 3436t3
Market-st eet job.................. 4Ol,I54
Howard-street joD,...,...,.....-. $3.50
81 30 ,4SS
This 81, 294, 4S8 Is. of course, only the estl-
mated total of the cost but everybody
knows that the real cost after the Commits
sioners should have had their hands in the
Golfers would have been double this esti-
male. for it had already been conceded by
the Commissioners that their Expenses"
would have been 100000. saying nothing
and purchased.
Under the new law the seven Commits
sioners will soon cease to exist, although
they will. as matter Of fact. milk the pub
lie purse for good round sum before they
can be actually cast into the pit of obli-
won.
A BOARD of AudiP Will now be ap-
pointed under the new act. 1t will consist
Of the Mayor, the Tax Collector and the
City Attorney, and 1t will allow the COM
missions such amounts as may be deemed
right In winding them up and getting rid
of them.
Then for the new order Of things.
Street extensions in future can only be
made with the actual consent Of a majority
of the property-owners on the street to be
extended. Three disinterested persons are to
be appointed by the Supervisors as commits
sioners as So day for not more than six
months, though extensions OF two months
at time may be granted. An Office is to
be provided in the City Hall for each COM
mission, and secretary may be employed
AZ salary not to exceed $50 a month.
Inc land fronting on an extension or widen
ing shall be assessed to the depth Of 120
feet and not exceeding $50 feet. The as
sessment must be made with reference to
the amount OF grading to be done, and the
cost OF putting the lots on the grade of the
street must be estimated in assessing the
value Of the land and the damage done to IL
by the street Improvement
Some OF the property out on Castro street
and In other parts OF the West Side had
been assessed for over half its value for one
street job or another. In many cases the
IevylDg Of the assessments amounted 70 a
practical cOnfiscaton of the property and
the owner began TO feel that 1t WAS cheaper
to pay rent than it was TO own real estate
and live on 1t.
As a matter of fact where the assess
ments, taxes, insurance, Interest and other
little circumstances" were taken into con-
sideratlOn the man who went into building
and loan association TO get hold of a little
property felt that the ''house OF your own"
Idea wac rank fallacy, as it cost more to
live that way than it did In the hlgh-rate
clearinghouse downtown.
But the hardy workmen who have been
tolllng and sweating to pay the luxurious sal
aries OF the Street Commissioners are now
feeling better They are relieved OF their
burden, and they sing a song OF gladness.
AS for the COmmissoners--taking him
slDgly or cOllectively-well,h he feels Ill He
has changed his plans regarding that trip
TO Europe next fall, and that seaside cot
tage al Santa Cruz. He has given up that
pair OF silVer-mounted-harness ed bays with
which he was going TO cut = great dash in
the park of q Sunday. He Is really in
enough to 60 10 bed, and some of them are
carrying their arms around in sling, He