The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-12-31
WHARFAGE FREE.
The Pacific Tail Has a
"Good Thing"
COLLECTS IT'S OWN TOLLS.
Modestly Allowing the State a
Small Rental.
DEGENERATION OF A WHARF.
9" The Mail Company Shall Assume
REPAIRS" Says the Contract,
but the Repairs Were Few.


cisco has been handed down through gen.
erations of Harbor Commissioners and
ever and anon assumes new phase under
the searchlight of investigation.
In The good old days OF rushing business
at tile corner of Brannan and First streets,
the era of a twenty fve-year contract as
rendered the corporation named, whereby
the State of California lost thousands and
thousands Of dollars which went into the
pockets of the mUnopolists, fat tolls we're
collected by the steamship company's
agents, and the shippers of the State were
the taxed sufferers who had to look meekly
on and say with sigh. Politics did It,"
During the term of the twenty five
years lease granted the Pacific Mail Com
pany it was supposed to keep the wharf
known as the Pacific Mail dock" in re-
pair. But being the property of the
people. and therefore of little consequence
10 the monopoly. just enough repairs were
made to keep the wharf from sinking into
the bay. Occasionally pile or two would
be driven, or rotten plank replaced By
fresh timber. Years of exposure caused
the place to degenerate. until at the time
the lease expired it had become an eyesOre
to the part of the city front on which il is
located.
In twenty-five years the Pacific Mail
Company had paid the State about
$500. 900 for the use OF the dock and had
collected enough in tolls to pay this
amount twice over. or, In other words, the
State lost about 100000 on the contract.
The Mail Company practically made this
amount clear and got its wharfage accom-
modatians free of charge.
On January 6, 1892, this 25-year cinch
expired, and Commissioners Alexander,
Bassett and Brown found 1t necessary TO
take some steps toward securing another
contract or lease.
An inspection of the Mail dock showed
the structure to be in an alarminglv dilapi-
dated condition. Its ancient roof needed
patching and its piliDg was eaten to the
core by the teredo.
Instead of instituting suit for breach of
COZ tract. as it should have done, as the
acknowledgement lease specially stipulated
that the corporation should keep the
,fuck in repair during the term of lease"
for turning over to the State an almost
ruined piece Of property. the Board OF
Harbor Commissioners acted as follows, as
is recorded nv the biennial report of the
board for 1892:
Since the date of the last biennial report the
only lease that is outstanding has expired; the
lease OF The Pacific Mail > eamship Company
negotiations were conducted toward changing
tile location OF The company, but 1t was found
ineXpedlent 10 make any cnange. The board,
therefore. allowed The company The use of the
y, ma .e,,sI Of 500 contioni Don
the assumption bt the company of the cost of
maintaining the structure.
In the arrangements referred to above
the Pacific Mail Company is allowed to
collect and retain for its own benefit all
wharfage tolls.
For $500 monthly the corporation gets,
/ first, wharf. which should not rent for
less than $4,000 monthly: second, privilege
nll fnl n In nh
month when Shipping Is at all brisk, and,
! lastly, is not forced to make such repairs
10 the wharf which will insure its preserva-
| ton.
On ordinary docks almost as much
/ money is collected by the Harbor Com
/ mIssiOners for dockage alone as is paid by
/ the Pacific Mail COMPANY for the exclusive
/ use of a wharf which is four times the
| size of the wharves below mentioned.
During 1892, S16,445 10 was collected for
dockage ct UniOn-street wharf; So. $50 so
at Pscifc-street, and S20.014 As at FIRE.
| mnnt-streat.
During 1892 the sum of SIS. 500 was COL
ec;ed from the Pacific Mail Company,
every cent OF which. beyond any reasnna-
! bic doubt, was more than covered by State
! tolls.
So much complaint was made by ship
pers regarding the outrageous tolls charged
by the Southern Pacific and other corpora
tons, the Mail Company particularly, that
the League of Progress, acting for the
merchants, had the rates for tolls re-
duced. 1t was-up TO the time when the
league partially gained lis pOint-the cas-
tom of the corporations to collect 8 cents
on every package of merchandise landed
| on their leased wharves whether it weighed
a ton or one pound.
Acting upon the leagues suggestion the
Harbor Commissioners made the follow
ing amendment to the rules for the collec-
tion of tolls:
ON 900 lbs or Observation-Disclosures. cent
On 500 lbs or less and more than 400 lbs 2 cents
ON 1900 lbs or less than 500 lDs..3 cents
On 600 lbs or less and than 200 fbs A cents
On 1000 lbs or less ana more than 1900 Ms cents
The Southern Pacific Company paid
rentals in 1892 amounting 10 SO 200 and
tolls $50 go II. the latter, it is thought.
being about $4,000 less than was actually
taken in. on account of cents being
charged. when the tolls on a single pack
age are l cent, the State being RENTED
the cent.
T But TO return again to the Pacific Mail
dock. 1t is claimed in defense of the
HarbOr Boards actions in the matter of
the monopoly that should the board COL
lect rental from the company simply for
| the use of the wharf and do its own col
! lectlng of tolls. then the steamship line
would demand that Immediate and extern
sive repairs be made to the big dock. thus
|
which would probably amount 10 more
than the tolls that might be collected be-
tween now ana the time when the Mail
! Company shall be removed TO better quar-.
| tiers.
But who is responsible for the present
condition of the wharf? To he sure, the
corporation has recently been obliged to
do some patching TO keep the structure
from cola psing entirely. but it has not ex-
pended any sum that can be compared
with ITS rich harvest of tolls. even for one
month, say for the month of November.
No other concern on the water front is
granted the same privileges as the Pacific
Mall. Inc present arrangement with that
concern is nothing more nor less than a
Simon-pu pure swinile on the State in the
estimation of all who have an inside track
on the situation. The corporation is
ahead about 100000 in the past twenty
six years. and the people have very little
TO show for it. save very rotten and de-
cdedly disgraceful 10 oking wharf.
|
He Played the Races.
Louis RothensteiD, barber, was ar
rested On Mission street last night on a