The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-25
TO DEMAND A FORFEITURE,
An Indignation Meeting of the
Residents South of Golden
Gate Park.
Citizens Determined to Bring the
Market Street Railway Com
pany to Time.

The meeting of the South of the Park
and Ocean Boulevard Improvement Asso-
citation held at Solomon Getz's Office in the
Croker building yesterday afternoon, was
attended by men whose property interests
in the district Immediately south of Golden
Gate Park are considerable. Among them
were Thomas q. Sweeney, the donor of the
observatory on Strawberry Hill; c. w.
Pope, president of the association; George
Lane, the secretary; Charles Lane, Edward
Ewald Attorney Michael Mullaney, Messrs.
Conley, Di Nola, Getz, Wells and others.
Before the meeting was called to order
the important announcement was made
that Mayor Sutro had just leta contract for
the grading of Sullivan or J street. be-
tween First and Fourth avenues. This is
the proposed site for the Affiliated Colleges
and public library buildings, and 1t was
doubtless with the intention of making his
gift still more valuable and acceptable to the
colleges that Mayor Sutro let the contract
1t was signed yesterday at 1 o'clock, and
calls for the completion of the work in ten
days, beginning Monday morning. This
work will cost Mr.. Sutro between 5000 and
$4,000. 1t will make splendid improve
ment to the property, and amounts in
reality, if the site be accepted by the COM
mittee, to cash donation of the amount
the contract will cost. South of the park
property owners and residents are joyous
over the good news, and predict an era of
prosperity ana rapid development for what
| they rightly consider one of the most beau
tiful residence sites in the City.
In converting the meeting President
zl4,. %I-A = IL
primarily to protest against the sudden
| and ineXcusable stoppage of the streetcar
service on Clayton. Cole and Carl streets,
and to devise ways and means of either
enforcing a forfeiture of the abandoned
franchise or compelling the Market-street
| Company to renew their discontinued SER
Twice.
consider, said Mr.. Pope, were the improve
ment of the Ocean Boulevard, the opening
l of street to the ocean and the establish
| ment of sewer grades.
A great deal of friendly discussion fol-
| lowed, ana the Market-street Company
was handled without gloves by the gentle
men present. 1t was finally decided not
! to parley any further with Superintendent
| Vining of the Market-street Company or
| any other officers of the road, but to pro.
| coed to petition the Board of Supervisors
| for a forfeiture of the Metropolitan Street
Railway franchise. To this end there will
| be mass-meeting Tuesday evening, Sep
| TENDER 3, at some downtown hall. At
| this meeting the petition will be intro.
duced and a committee chosen to take
| charge of the matter.
1t was pointed. out by Mr.. Sweeney that
| the discontinued service had been operated
| by the Metropolitan Company long before
| there was a single house in the neighbor-
hood; that the neighborhood had grown
| and fourished by the service and that now
| it had enough Inhabitants to pay for the
streetcar service that had been afforded
| before the recent high-handed action of
| the Market-stre ct Company. Mr.. Sweeney
| also pointed out that the Market-street
| Company was not compelled to buy this
road
| IL made the purchase with its eyes wide
open and for definite purpose. 1t must
| have known whether or not the road
would pay operating expenses. Mr.
| Sweeney thought the reason for the ces-
sation of the service could be found in the
desire of the Market-srreet Company to
| injure the availability of the Sutro tie for
| the Affiliated Colleges.
And these sentiments found ready re-
| Spouse in the remarks made by many of
| the other gentlemen. Attorney Mullaney
while urging on the agitation, took rather
gloomy view of the situation from the
| fact, he said, that the Market-street Com
pany owned majority of the Board of
| Supervisors and could twist that body
about its thumb as it chose. He thought,
| too, that as a legal proposition the road
coulo not abandon a part of its franchise
without FORGETTING the whole and that the
| Superior Court should be called upon to
declare the forfeiture.
Between now and the mass-meeting OF
| September the matter will be thoroughly
canvassed from legal standpoint.
President Pope said he had made inquir-
les concerning the improvement of the
Ocean Boulevard. He said the work could
be done for between $l3, 900 and S14, 900. He
had made proposition to the Park Com
missioners to the effect that if they would
appropriate $4,000 of this amount the asso-
citation would agree to raise the other
$4,000. If the Park Commissioners should
| accept the plan the work will probably be
| finished-and the finest boulevard in the
world established--within sixty days.