The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-01-28

lion. westerly 10 Coibett road viii be de-
uuQuent ar Tie Office IF The Superintendent OF
Pubic Nue Gets. January -, penalty Of
per cent and 30 cents per lot wilt then be
added. WILLIAM ~. ACkERS0N.
Superintendent Public Streets.
Yes. Il is true that these assessments be-
came delinquent at o'clock Yesterday, and
score of high-salaried clerks began the
work of adding the penalty of . per cent
and 80 cents on each lot" to the steep sums
charged up against tile overburdened prop
eriy-holde-s.
Are those SO freely assessed paying
promptly?
Not at all.
Up to the hour when the assessments be-
come delinquent not enc pr0pery-Owner in
twenty had paid.
Why are they holding back?
Simply because they think the whole job
is unnecessary. Illegal, ana that the assess
ments are eXtortionate.
Before their property is sold to satisfy the
assessments they expect to obtain relief in
tie courts.
Out on Guerrero and Dolores streets not
one is in favor of the extensions, and they
have held several meetings to publicly dis
cuss the evil and a suitable remedy
Not without q final struggle will they give
up tae property that required years of say
ing to acquire.
This JOB said one disgusted property
owner yesterday. will benefit Us about as
much as would the grading Of streets on
the moon.
'As far as Pm concerned, they can take
my little lot, for il will be cheaper for me
70 surrender it than to pay the assessment"
Nice state Of affairs. is it not?
In many cases tha assessment am0uDts to
practica confscation.
Aside from this particular job, there are
other extension schemes which are becom-
ing tied up into a knot Of irregularities that
may cause Cther promoters 10 end of
trouble to disentangle.
That the law governing these extensions
mas been violated and contorted in many
respects a fact that win not be difficult to
show.
To begin with the proposed extension of
Nineteenth, Twentieth. Twenty first,
Twenty-second and Twenty-third streets it
Is of interest to know that the assessed dis
trict embraces over ninety blocks, compris-
ing 5000 lots.
Imagine the magnitude Of the scheme!
At least 5000 lots are to be sold unless the
assessments are paid within the next three
weeks!
On November 10 1890. three commission
eTs, William N. O'Shaughuessy. Charles W.
WEIGH and J. II. Bartlett. were appointed
to engineer the scheme.
Nearly two years later they filed an elab-
crate report with the Board OF Supervisors.
which body approved it.
Speaking Of the importance and magni-
tude Of the work. the report pats property
owners on the back by saying:
AS Will be perceived, five streets and one
district for them all are included 10 the res
Olutiun and order. And in this connection
il is important 10 note that had there been
FIVE districts aud five commissions thu ex-
pense would have been greatly multiplied"
There IS no ground for contradiction in
the last assertion.
Had there been five commissions the ex-
pense for salaries. et".." would have been
about five times SIS. 100 81.
with few EXCEPTIONS" confines the re-
port, so extensive ar enterprise Of this
kind has never been carried out by one
commission. and il the enterprise was
great. likewise the labor"
Yes, the labor must have been great"
for the assessed people are asked to pay
over $3.50 for IT,
That It is an extensive enterprise (in the
interest Of salaTed men and contractors
the property-hOlders are not prepared to
deny.
Then the report winds up with flourish
and gives the following as grave difficult
ties TO overcome: Surveyors, estimating
values. assessments popular pTejudces
and prolonged litigation"
Overcoming popular pTejudices and pro-
longed litigation are the only difficulties
that remain.
-Four clerks were IN the Office of the com
mission for the extension of the FIVE streets
for the purpose OF making out assessment
bills yesterday, but they were not very
busy.
Very few Of the assessed called. and
those who did receive their bills did not
hasten to the Street Superintendent Office
TO pay.
They gazed sorrowfully at the heavy
totals and marched away with a funeTeal
tread.
The head clerk tried TO cheer them.
why the majority of the residents of the
assessr0 district are IN favor Of the extern
sions," said he; and see here I've Just
made 0uf a bin for the Heyman tract for
S16.1 Us great thing, and everybody
ought to ne delighted; and the speaker
rubbed his hands gleefully as he thought Of
the next u 1ths salary that would soon be
due.
But We e not delighted" spoke up a
man, who Dr. bill in his hands. II own
loi fifty fee away from Nineteenth street,
and my from ge is only twenty-five feet,
yet I'm asked % pay $50"
Then a ladJ staggered back from the
counter as she was handed n bill of S607.
She took the bill into the Street Superln-
teudents Office and, after some argu-
ments, departed without paving it.
fou will get your money back If the