The record-union., 1893-05-17
ENFORCE THE LAW.

After the great improvement made in
the appearance of the business streets of
this city in the last two years by the
taking down of post-awnings, it should
not be necessary to reinaugurate the war
against these nuisances. They should all
come down; they are a grievous offense,
and quite as much as anything else bring
upon the business sections the critical re-
proaches of visitors, which are added to
the sum of the items of complaint enc
mics of the city prefer against it.
In no single instance where post
awning has been removed, would the
people or the property-owner have the
old style of scaffolding restored, so greatly
has the change improved business fronts.
There have been Determinations, unfor-
tunately; the law has not been uniformly
enforced; some awnings have been left
unassaulted that are worse than were
some which were taken down. But this
proves nothing more than that officers
have not dealt justly with the people,
The remaining post-awnings on and
X streets and all cross streets are the
more offensive now that they are few.
These unsightly objects offend every eye.
Possibly Sacramentans by reason of
familiarity with the sight of these scat
folds donot so fully realize the damaging
effects of these platforms strung along
the streets; but strangers do, and they do
not fail to set down in their memories
and notebooks this fact to our great dis
credit
On several awnings there remain dwell
ings, rooms, kitchens even, in violation
of the laws outside of the awning ordi-
nance. The property-owners right ends
with the boundary of his lot. He has no
right whatever to build his house out
over the sidewalk. That passage belongs
to the public from the ground up. If one
man may build rooms out to the avn
ing's edge, so may another and so may
all, and thus the whole street be lined
with sheds, the highway be narrowed
thirty-two feet and the sidewalk ways
become mere tunnels.
Let the authorities look into this mat
ter and enforce the law evenly, indis-
criminately, along the whole line. They
have no power to suspend the law. If
they consent to its violation they practi-
cally suspend it, and thus break the law
they made and set an example to the peo-
pie that operates badly along the whole
line of ordinances.
Let US suppose the residents along L
street, above Tenth, or H street. above
Seventh, should of one accord build the
second stories of their houses out to the
edge of the sidewalks and support them
upon poles set upon the street curb, what
howl would go up, how quick the
authorities would be to compel the re-
moval of the distractions.
Yet such offense would be no more a
violation of the law than the procedure of
property-owners on business streets who
build out to the edge OF the walk, twelve
feet above it, and use the platforms for
gardens, woodyards, laundries, kitchens,
nurseries, smoking-rooms and store
houses.
Enforce the law; let all post awnings
come down at once, and hanging avn
ings, all on the same level, be substituted
if we must have fixed awnings. Two
thirds of the people have obeyed the law
let it be not said any more that the re-
naming one-third are exempt from the
operations of the ordinance.