The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-26
Why She Undertook to Build Her
House Without a Con-
tractor.
ALMOST A POLITICAL ROW.
A Lively Boycott On the Woman and
How She Finally Outwitted
Business Men.

Mrs. NJ. H. Berkeley of 800 Ellis street is
nothing if not energetic. Within four
weeks she has locked horns with the
Plumbers Union, stood off a boycott by
the Carpenters Union, had turn with
the bricklayers and is now experimenting
the construction of the addition to the
premises mentioned. Mrs. Berkeley is no
longer young. Her hair is snowy white,
but she is as lively and full of fire as many
woman under 80 years. Yesterday.
in speaking of her dimculties, she said
that she has for the past four weeks been
in peck of trouble, but she is growing fat
instead of thin for all that.
In order that the situation may be better
understood, Mrs. Berkeley stated that she
is the daughter of one Of the best known
contractors in the East, who, many years
ago, built many of the large hotels and
other fine buildings in Eastern cities. She
was his constant companion, and, as may
be expected, she learned all of the details
of her fathers business.
Early last fall, Mrs. Emma Ruth Davis,
who owns the property at 322 Ellis street,
decided to enlarge the building by raising
it so as to pnt in three new stories in the
rear and two in the front. Knowing that
Mrs. Berkeley had a good knowledge of
such matters, Mrs. Davis left the matter
of making the improvements in the hands
of the old lady, who, by the way, is her
cousin. The plans for the change were
prepared by B. J. S. Cahill, the architect,
and Mrs. Berkeley set to work. Her trials
and tribulations are best told by herself.
She said:
l was acquainted with carpenter named
Hutchinson, who is the secretary OF one OF the
carpenters unions. He did work for me
before. Hutchinson came to me and said ii
would let him take the job and do the work by
the day instead OF letting it out on contract he
would do an excellent piece of work and push
the Job so that it would be done on time. l
told him to go ahead and 1 would give him
81 q day and his carpenters So. Now this
man Hutchinson is a member of a semi-pollti-
cal organization and he would not hire any
one who did not belong to that society and
they all had to be union men.
The work went on very slowly, for all the
men he hired were old fellows who wore
glasses and were grunting with rheumatism
nearly al of the time. l was anything but
pleased with his work, which In most instances
had to be done over again. For instance, when
he raised the old house, he slipped it over upon
Mrs. Green's property, and the house had to be
lacked up again and moved back. Even this
was not suffi Gent, and we had to cut two inches
off of the entire wall to get upon the line, and
to cut that amount from three stories was no
small job.
many other faults she had discovered in
her foreman's work before getting to the
main causes that led to the strike. She
said there were eight carpenters on the
work, all of whom she had allowed Hutch
inson 10 engage with the exception of one
who was a first-class workman whom she
had hired. One dav she found that this
man was not at work, and hutchinson ex-
planned that the man had found a better
job. Later she met the carpenter, who
told her that Hutchinson had discharged
him because, after his wife's death, he
placed his daughter in a religious house
where she would be cared for properly.
This made Mrs. Berkeley very mad, al
though she disclaims being a bigot. She
stated that when she called the foreman to
task for dismissing one of her workmen
because of his religion, Hutchinson an
swered that he would not allow any but
those of a particular organization to work
on the job with him. Mrs. Barkeley, in
discussing what followed, said:
I told him that this was my job and that 1
would hire any one l pleased. He was only
the foreman. Hutchinson got mad and sta rte
to talk about the difference of belief. 1t was
lucky that I was there or there would have
been trouble Mccarthy, the contractor, and
his men were building chimney on the back
OF the house and heard all that was said, and
there came near being general fight between
the brickl6yers and the carpenters. l then
dismissed Hutchinson on the spot, principally
because ne had been on the job since August
13 and had done nothing to my satisfaction
The work should have bren done in three
months, and am out $1,000 through Hutchin-
sons management.
What did he do but call out all of the carpen-
tiers on a strike? / got another lot of eight
union men and he had the union call them
out also. Then got in lot OF Swedish car
penters and the men who struck got in front of
the house and yelled ''scab," and my men
were SO afraid that they had to go to their
homes by sneaking out the back way. was
obliged to send to the police station and get
the strikers driven away.
Mrs. Barkeley's troubles did not end
there by any means. She had trouble
with the licensed plumber, whom she dis
missed, and she hired two iourneymen
plumbers to complete the work. The first
setback she received in this line was in the
shape of a complaint made to the Health
Office that the plumbing was not beng
done in the proper manner, and Health
Inspector Sullivan called ct the house.
He acknowledged that the work was all
right. The next obstacle she stumbled
over was a refusal on the part of Holbrook,
Merritt & Stetson to furnish the hardware
necessary for the plumbing. She said:
AS far back as last July made contract for
all my plumbing hardware. paid them about
5000 for the rough material, but when wanted
the bathtubs they refused to sell or deliver
the goods. / asked the reason and found that
a committee from the Plumbers Union Car
penters' Union and Builders Exchange had
demanded that they cease to fill my orders be-
cause had no licensed plumber doing the lob
and because had discharged Hutchinson At
last I got that matter fixed by one of nv
friends buying for me all the goods viii re-
quire.
- The same crowd worked boycott on me in
another direction. When | started out to get
modern electric appliances, such as bells,
light-wires ETC., could not find a firm in town
who would do the work although I have the
ready cash to pay them. AS soon as they would
go to the exchange to see who has the contract
they would get posted and decline to do the
work.
Well at last gotaround this also by friend
who is an electrician, purchasing the material
in his own name and without telling for whom
it was intended. / now have the work so far
along that the plasterers are ready to go to work
and am sure that | will get the house in order
by the middle of FEBRUARY when several OF the
lessees will beready to take it. have had all
l want to do with contractors and although
have had much to do with them l am through
with them now