The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-11-23
WAR is DECLARED.
DWeIlers in Richmond on
Their MettIe.
TO CUT UP THE RACETRACK.
President Helms Is SummariIy
Bounced.
TO CUT UP THE RACETRACK.
THEY ALSO HOPE TO LIMIT RACES
1t Is Proposed to Try Whether a
rIandamus Will Open Up the
Three Avenues.

neck and crop, from the presidency of the
| Richmond District Improvement Club. and
war has been declared against the Bay
| District track. Thomas G. Parker has
| been elected in the stead of Helms, and a
plan of campaign inaugurated which the
members Of the club are sanguipe will re-
suit in the cutting up of the racecourse
into residence lots.
| But that is not all. The people of the
Richmond District intend to push things
further than this. They propose to nave
bill presented at the next session of the
Legislature to restrict racing on any one
track for more than ninety days in any
one year. To this end the mem bers of the
| Richmond District Improvement Club
have voted 10 send George A. McCalvy,
deputy clerk of the Supreme Court, to Sac
ramentO at the coming session of the As
sembly to push the bill through.
The long and short OF the whole busi-
ness ls that the members of the Richmond
| District Club are disguised with the man
| ner in which their pleas for the opening OF
Second, Third and Fourth avenues through
the track have been treated by the Super
viSOrs. They claim-and support that
claim with plenty of evidence-that these
streets were long ago dedicated to the city,
and that the lesseeS of the track have no
right, legal or moral, TT fence them in.
The story of the appearance of commit
| lees of the Richmond Club before the Su-
pervisors is an old one. and the prolOn ged
| inaction of the Supervisors in the matter
has ceased to be a wonder, even to the res
ldentS OF Richmond. These latter were
firmly convinced that o matter what rep
reservations they might make the Super
viS0rs were only casting around for some
chance to ignore their pleas.
That chance, the members of the club
state, the Supervisors found in Phillip j.
Helms. Hence the cas- ting out of that
dgnltary from the councils of his fellows.
After all the representations made by the
| residents in the district to the Supervisors
that they wished the streets opened
| through the track, appears, so it is stated,
Mr.. Helms before the board, in company
with Tom Williams of the Jockey Club,
and states il his official capacity that the
people or Richmond didn't really want the
streets opened. That settled it then and
there. The board dropped the matter and
the residents of the suburb retired in
despair. They had no idea at the time that
Mr. Helms had been TO the Supervisors
About week ago they discovered it and
| then began a quiet Investigation, which
led to the ousting of Helms at the semi
| monthly meeting in FarrelPS Hall on
! Wednesday night.
Helms is butcher in the Richmond
| district. and, since the last race meeting
began. the people of the district are Ger.
| tain that he finds market for much of his
stock at the race track. There are any
| q um Der of grooms and trainers and Jockeys
| and horsebOys who live a the course, and
nothing is more natural than that they
should patronize Heims. And, putting
| two and two together, the members of the
| Richmond District Improvement Club
imagine that nothing would be more
natural for Mr.. Helms than to feel rather
| friendly to the market for his goods.
| Arguing that Mr.. Helms was too human to
serve God and Mammon at the same time,
| which, In this instance, means the Rich
m0nd District Improvement Club and Tom
Williams Of the Jockey Club, they deposed
him.
After Mr.. Parker's election the club
chose Mr.. p. A. Bergerot, director aud at
torney for the French Benevolent Society,
as vice-president. Mr.. Parker was also
named as committee of one to take such
legal steps as may be deemed necessary to
remove the distractions now maintained
by the California Jockey Club upon Sec
ond, Third and Fourth avenues. Mr..
Parker has not vet decided just what
method he will pursue, but it seems to be
the general opinion among members of the
club that writ of mandate can be sued
out to compel Street Commissioner Ash
worth to open the desired avenues. or
course the jockey CLUB will contest any
such plan, and very lively struggle is
more than probable at very early date.
AS the club has received a number of
subs criptlons to defray the expense of
carving out these plans, W. P. johnson,
E. w. Brown and 7. G. Parker were Sc
lected committee to receive and dis
burse it.
An attempt will be made to have the
Market-street Railway Company do some
thing IN reference to the unused rails on
Point Lobos avenue, between Sixth and
Tblrty-second aVenues-ether to carry
out their franchise or remove the useless
rails.
To Senator-elect Percy l.. Henderson
was referred the matter OF the location of
a branch postoffice in the district.