The San Francisco call., 1895-07-17
THAT THEFT OF STREETS.
The Solid Eight Assisting the
Combine to Deceive the
People.
DELIBERATELY EVIL INTENT.
But 1t Furnishes Proof of That Fact.
and Conviction VIII Result in
Permanent Good.

No, it was no wonder that the Solid
Eight of the Board of Supervisors felt the
need of guard of police during the ses-
sion of Monday, nor that they felt called
upon to distribute a detail of officers in
citizens clothes through the lobby and
gallery, which it has since been learned
they did do. They knew better than any
body that the people had good cause to
ieer and laugh them to shame.
When the Solid Eight, at their meeting
of last week, passed resolution which
practically grants to the Market-street Rail-
way Company a franchise covering all the
available routes TO Ingleside and the new
racetrack, when the law particularly stipu-
lates that these privileges be put up at
public auction and awarded to the highest
bidder, it was not their first offense in
violating the law. The stress which THE
CALL has laid upon this transgression
grows from knowledge of the long line
of jobbery committed by this board, and
the knowledge also that it stands ready to
lengthen that line indefinitely unless the
people stop it.
For instance, the Church-street franchise
was granted under the identical conditions
that have aroused the public to an almost
united protest in this case of Ocean House
road and Sunnyside avenue.
The Church-street Improvement Club
was organized six years ago for the sole
purpose of securing for that section a cable
roa along the entire length of that street.
The members of the club worked early and
late to the desired end and interested two
companies, the Market street and the
Omnibus.
Both applied for franchise, and the
Market-street Company secured it, of
course. The conditions of the franchise
required that they begin work within one
year and finish it within three. They laid
rails along one block within the year.
which stopped all cavil on the question of
their beginning the work, and then the
impatient people saw the end of the thir
year drag itself out, and the road was not
completed. The Market-street Railroad
Company had gained their point-they had
kept competitor from building a road
which it wanted and intended to build and
which 1.-THE Market-street Company-did
not want and had had no intention of
building.
After waiting ali those years for the big
corporation to fulfill its obligation and
give them the road they had worked for
the Church-street people saw the franchise
lapse and began to again invite compet-
itor into the field, when, to their amaze
ment, the Market-street Company came
upon them in the night and laid tracks
over two blocks of the street, beginning at
Sixteenth street and leaving the entire
street south of Sixteenth street without
road. Insult was added to injury in this
deal, for these two blocks in the early
efforts of the club had belonged to private
parties and the club had raised $1,000 to
purchase the franchise for the company
the franchise that had been allowed to
lapse. Now the company had come upon
them in the night and stolen the right of
way, but had laid only two blocks connect
ing with other branches of their road and
so had placed themselves in the way of
any other company which might be will
ing to extend road across the length of
Church street, as was so much desired by
the club and the people at large.
The Mayor was appealed to, it will be
remembered, and because ho was about to
tear up the tracks the Market-street Com
pany signifed their willingness to take the
tracks up and apply in regular form for
franchise over these two blocks. OF course
they were absolutely certain of getting
what they asked for or they would not
have assumed this meek attitude.
The attorneys of the company drew up
the form of franchise and also an order
for the advertisement, to be published sac
cording to law" CD calling for bids for the
same. 1t was form now made familiar
to the readers of THE CALL. It was identi-
cal with this one now being advertised in
the case of the Ocean-house road and Sun
nyside-avenue franchise, except the names
of the streets to be traversed. It provides
that the road. whoever buys ii, must be
operated
AS an extension of and adjunct to and in
connection with the lines of the Market
street Railway.
The Church-street people protested and
protested, but protested in vain. The Solid
Eight evidently could not but obey their
masters, the Market-street Railway Com
pany, and the pleading of the people who
elected them availed nothing.
The franchise was sold, the Market
street Railway Company being the only
permissible under the standing order of
the board, $500.
A civil suit has been entered in the
name of the people of the State against the
company to compel it TO remove these
tracks, the grounds taken being that the
resolution under which the bids were
called for, was not according to the require
ments of the law of the Stata Attorney
General Fitzgerald and A. P. Van Duzer
Esq, council for the Church-street I'm
provement Club, declare that no court on
earth would ever hold that an advertise
ment of railway franchise which stipu-
lated that it must be run as an entension of
and adjunct to and an connec tion ,Otth some
other railway is an open and fair auction.
But it does not require lawyer to see
that, and no juggling of words can make