The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-05-14
in WHERE is 1T.
A Pretty tumble Out at
the Mission.
RALLYING TO THE RESCUE.
Where None Can Find Any One,
Mail and Parcels Stray and People
Waste Time and Energy.
RALLYING To THE RESCUE

You will be quite safe; no one will find
you, even if your name is inscribed In the
city directory with the correct number ap-
pended.
Oh. yes; you will be quite safe OF Six
teenth street. for instance.
There your number will be 1O1 say, but
who would think of looking for you in
that block when your next-door neighbors
are Nos. 2706 and 703 respectively?
It's a perfectly safe gamble, you may
depend, and you can sit at your parlor
window and watch the merry dance In
search of you-the mail-carriers, the MINI
ble telegra oh boys. the lightning messenger
couriers, the expressmen, the anxious
friends, the newspaper men, the duns, the
butcher, the baker, the candlestick-make
you can smile as you watch them vast
ing good energy and worse language hunt
ing you.
Oh yes, the street-numbering ont at the
Mission is rantlng. roaring farce, and the
Missionites are going to have it fixed, too.
Take Twentieth strpet-take any street
south of Thirteenth. Well, on Twentieth
street, odd and even numbers are to be
found on the same side, and between Fol
som and Harrison tie zoos and COOS are
deliberately iunbed on the same block
The only man in the Mission supposed
to know where any desired number is to
be found is an eXpressman named Rogers,
and he is so peStered with Inquiries that
he intends to open guide Office and hire
himself ont by the hour.
Sections of blocks are called full blocks
in some instances; some of the streets
start theh numbers from one end, some at
the other, the numbers meeting in Jagged
confusion somewhere near the middle. In
IL
tOund on more than one house on the same
OF different sides.
Agnews and Stockton asylums are sup
posed to recruit largely from the Mission
mail-earriers. frenZied in their efforts to
locate mysterlOusly missing numbers. The
POstoffice Department at Washington has
firmly declined pige0n-hollDg any more
complaints arising from the great San
Francisco Mission "Wh ere- s.it-at?" dis
trict They have given 1t up as q hopeless
Job.
At the branch Mission Postoffice. Station
c., on the corner of Twentieth and Valen-
Ella streets. Superintendent David c.
Smith wept freely yesterday as he de-
tailed the imposslbilities of the situation.
Ali his carriers are numbered to prevent
their being lost, but thar doesn't save them
any more than it does the houses they
waste hours in finding.
Look here!' he said in the intervals OF
passionate bursts OF sorrow and despair.
mo 1863 has to cover the sos, zoos and
27O0's on Sixteenth street. True, they are
all on the same block, but IL he is a new
man how is he to know that? On the
same street No. 100 delivers to the zoos,
300s, 2S00s and 2900's. They adjoin. you
see. and No. 81 serves the 400's. 500's,
3000's and 3I00s. They are consecutive in
these parts, mind.
"In one block on Fifteenth street one Of
my trusty minions finds the SOS. zoos,
300's and 400's-and yet at the main office
they can't understand the constant CON-
plants about delay of important mail,
instructions. miscarrlages. etc.
81 have sent in lengthy reports to the
Postmaster, asking, begging that the Su-
pervisors be urged to give US relief. but
though the Postmaster has done his best
nothing has been DONE" and the diigent
superintendent gulped down another pas
sIonate storm of weeping as he absenty
stamped a returned letter: Not known
al 10I; try 10l1, next door"
The Mission residents have long been
agitating the unparalleled confusion ere
ated by the present condition OF the street
numbering, chiefly BY registering vigorous
individual kicks.
These single remonstrance' have failed
and now the whole district has risen up in
arms under the potent banners of the Mis-
sim Journal and the Mission Property
owners Union.
The Mission Journal has done voeman's
service in the work. The proprietors have
got out a map showing the atroeious
iumbling of the innumerable NUN bers
maTvelously mixed and have also obtain ed
thousands of signatures to petition ask
ing the Supervisors to abolish this NUS
ance.
The petition will be presented at the
meeting OF the Board OF Supervisors on
Monday night, and a large number of re-
4, Il -
urge the matter.
S. Booth, one of the proprletors of the
journal. said yesterday that the Irregular
ity of the numbers wac a crying disgrace
TO the Mission. That section OF town was
becoming more and more selected as q
business and residence district, aud yet
the numbering would be considered a blot
on rural system of between streets"
Fractions of blocks are treated as
blocks" said he numbering is started al
different ends or at different points along
the same end. There is DO system every
thing is arbitrary and Go.as-you-please and
the people arc tired of 1t.
Here is what some of the mal-carriers
say about the wonders of Mission num-
bering:
Thomas f. O'Maley, route 1O1, SAYS: The
200, 800, 400 and 500 blocks OF Fifteenth
street are all mixed, rs are also the numbers
on BtosDan street. QulnnstEeet numbers are
duplicated.
W. A. Ducommon, route 80. says 1900 block
Church street all mixed; 100 block on 1000
block; 500 and 800 blocks on Twenty
all mixed; so block on Clipper mixed; 300
block on NIcksburg all mixed 900 block on
Tweutyfourth IN 1000 block; 200 block San
Jose avenue mixed; 400 block Fair Oaks street
has 1000 numbers; 800 and 800 on Army In
same block; 100 Twenty seventh mixed; 1900
and 1900 Sanchez all mixed and there are two
1900 blocks.
Martin j. Lawler, route 81, says: Twentieth
street is duplicated; Eighteenth street, 400
and 800 numbers are all in same block; 500
ana 600 are also In same block; 80 block of
Fair Oaks. of Eighteenth. are duplicated again
above Twenty -iirst; 400 block Seventeenth has
500 numbers; Albion avenue is duplicated
5000 block Sixteenth terribly mixed. as is also
the BOO block.
William Farrell. route 102. says: One thou
sand block Twenty-third has GOO numbers;
HOO block has 900 numbers; 100 block Chat
taDOOga all mixed.
&. NJ. Matthews, route II. says: 400 and 800
block Twenly-thlrd street has no proper mum
bers; 100. 1900, 1900 and 14O0 blocks on
Valencia DUPLICATED; so and 300 numbers In
same block on TwentysiXth, 100 block nc
proper numbers; 1000 Capp all mixed; zoo
and 500 block Twenty fourth street aie duplI-
Gated and badly mixed; Iwenty-se second SOC
and 800 blocks mixed.
The Journal will stay by the Mission,
added Mr.. Booth. land we feel confident
the Supervisors will help us, when they
appreciate our bad plight"
Everywhere else the same story was
heard.
Doctors called to an emergency case in
the middle of the night often go wander
Ing wildly about seeking the patient who
may be dying for want of immediate at
tentioB. Children's ailments are proverbs
ally sudden, and many little life may
depend upon an instant reform in the
street-numberng system.
One of the Supervisors himself is directly
interested in the matter. Supervisor
James lives at 213l Howard, on the east
side of the street, near Eighteenth. The
numbers are supposed to run consecutively
from north to south, but ON the north side
of Supervisor James house (213D are to be
found higher numbers, viz: 2133, 2i35
2137, etc. 1t is only another case of mix ~
But Howard Is considered one of the best
numbered streets in the Mission.
The postal authorities sum up the con
dition very clearly thus: with the ex.
ception OF Valencia, Mission, Howard and
Folsom streets there is not n street in the
mission properly numbered"
1t is generally believed that the Super.
visors will take immediate action on this
notorious nuisance in the important and
populous mission district, when the mat.
t. H. % Xt,nS~