The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-14
SIX WEEKS OF DARKNESS,
Supervisors Turn Out the
Lights in Order to Save
Money.
THEY NEED IT FOR BREAD.
The Appeal to the Supreme Court
Has Been Tardy, With Con-
tractors Festive.

For the next SIX weeks the streets of the
City of San Francisco will be in absolute
darkness at night, save for what relief the
moon may offer.
When all the routine business of the
Board of Supervisors at their meeting of
yesterday was finished, Chairman Taylor
OF the Finance Committee sent up a reso-
luton directing, in as few words as the
thing could be done, that the Edison Elec-
trio Light Company and the San Francisco
Gas Light Company discontinue furnish
ing light for the streets of the City from
May 15 which is tomorrow, until June 81,
which is the end of the fiscal year.
Mr.. Taylor, when the resolution was
read by the clerk, rose and said: 81 regret
very much, your Honor, the necessity that
compels me to offer this resolution, which,
if adopted, will leave the City in darkness
at nighttime during the next six weeks
But it is the only alternative as against
turning the inmates of the Almshouse into
the streets, and with them the prisoners in
the lookup and jails, and leaving the sick
and dying in the hospital wholly unpro-
vided for. The shutting off of the lights
for these six weeks will effect saving of
about $23 900, and this amount will pro-
vide for the institutions for at least few
days until some other recourse is devised.
The Finance Committee has been greatly
distressed over the condition in which the
City finds itself.
1--WE had hoped to find a way out through
some decision of the Supreme Court but
none has yet appeared. l thought we had
put the City in position to be mandamused
by our resolution of some weeks ago, but
no citizen has as yet appeared to go into
court in the matter. The City is in the
same position now as it was on the LIST of
the month, without any money and con-
frcnted by the refusal of the contractors to
furnish the City with any further supplies
unless they know that they will be paid"
This dreary little speech affected the
board like the gathering of wet fog.
Taylor moved that the resolution be
adopted at once.
Hirsch seconded the motion.
There was no further discussion. Mayor
Sutro asked that all who favored the
motion vote 'aye," and half ashamed
mutter from two or three members was
the response. There was no answer to the
call for "noes," and the resolution was de-
clared adopted and the meeting imme
diately adjourned.
'This $4,000 will only last US for few
days at BEST" said Chairman Taylor after
the meeting; "but we have reached that
point where we are buying supplies from
day to day and hoping that tomorrow will
discover some way out of the dilemma.
Why has not the suit been entered that we
expected? Well, it hasn't been arranged,
and no citizen has stepped forward to be-
gin il. l understood that it was to have
been commenced to-day. don't know
how much money will be needed to pay
for the supplies for the remainder of the
fiscal year, but in any case we will be
about 100000 short. 1t is humiliating
thing, but there is no help for it."
Mayor Sutro took the situation philo-
sophically. 1.-THE thing had to be done l
suppose" he said. at was forced upon
US. 1t won't be pleasant, there's no doubt
of that, and people will have to be wary
stand it and make the best of it. Part of
the time it will be moonlight. No, it is
true that this amount will not see US
through in the matter of supplies, but it
will go a long way toward it and when it
is exhausted we will have to find some
other means of tiding US over"
This experience is not new. 1t happened
once during Mayor Bartlett's administra-
ton.
The contractors, many of whom were at
the meeting with their bids in for next
years contracts, expressed themselves as
ready to continue furnishing supplies until
further notice with the assurance of pay
offered by the adoption of this resolution.
Concerning the street-ight resolution of
the Board of Supervisors Dennis t. Sulli-
van, Chief Engineer of the Fire Depart
ment, said last night that he thought the
board would find it mistake.
SIT is not safe" was his observation.
"Of course it affects the Police Department
much more than it does ours. Darkness
will make it possible for footpaos, burg
lars, garroters and all kinds of petty Grim
inals to get in their work. For that reason
l say it is not safe"
Fire Commissioner George T. Bohen en-
tertained similar views. $50 far as the
Fire Department is concerned" said he,
sit will not make very much difference,
because in case of fire we can easily light
the gas in its immediate vicinity; enough,
anyhow, to serve our purpose. We have
quite number of men belonging to the
Fire Department that are employed as
lamplighters, so, even if the burners are
taken out of the street lamps and stop tips
are substituted, we can easily have that
difficulty overcome in cases of emergency.
1--WE are all waiting for the Supreme
Court decision, which we hope will be in
favor of having the next tax levy 81 25.
That would give us nice surplus, enabling
us to meet our deficiency, and thereby to
establish the City's credit. We have been
keeping pretty close in the Fire Depart
ment and have kept within our appropria-
ton. For the last two months we have
been feeding our horses on half rations.
There is not much use, though, of US spar
ing our appropriation if the other depart
ments are going to use up what belongs