The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-15
The Civic Federation to SySte-
Matte Its Crusade at
Once.
CHICAGO PLAN AS A MODEL.
1t Will Divide Up Into Sections
and the City is to Be
Distracted,

which embraces such reform associations
as the Good Government Club and the Law
and Order League, is preparing to get
down to the solid work of reform at once.
For the purpose, therefore, of having some
well-detined plan of operation the execu-
tive committee is to meet this afternoon at
o'clock in the Office of President 1. ]. Tru-
man at the Columbia Banking Company,
236 Bush street. At this meeting a scheme
of apportioning the work to sub-organiza-
tions and of districting the city SO as to
facilitate the labor of investigation will be
outlined as a preliminary to the meeting
of the federation which is to take place on
Wednesday. The executive committee at
present consists of: P. G. Dexter, chair
man; l. J. Truman; Rev. J. Cummings
Smith, pastor of the Trinity Presbyterian
Church.; Rev. E. R. Ollie, pastor of the
Central NJ. E. Church; Curtis Hillyer, Sec
retarv OF tne federation; John M. Rey-
nolds; NJ. McGlynn, president of the Fed
Grated Trades, and Mrs. Rose M. French.
a model for intelligent and scientific &C.
ton is found in the plan of the Chicago
Civic Federation, the methods of which
have been brought out strongly to public
notice in w. T. Stead's book, "If Christ
Came to Chicago" but the San Francisco
Federation will not follow closely upon the
lines laid down there. 1t proposes, how
ever to adopt a method OF dividing the
association into sections somewhat SIM
liar to the Chicago plan, and of segregat-
ing the reform work In manner that will
make such apportionment as should prom
Use the best results. For instance, the Chi
cago Federation has segregated its work
and apportioned it to sections or SUBJ
organizations in this manner: One section
devotes itself altogether to "Municipal'
work; another to ''Philanthropic" third
to Industrial; fourth to Educational
and Social" and fifth to moral Reform"
Rev. E. r. Ollie summed up what was con-
templated in the following statement yes
terday afternoon:
I'VE don't intend to reorganize, but to
get more fully organized. Somewhat after
the Chicago style we are going to divide up
| into sections but the great work to be
undertaken is to partake of the nature of
campaign of education.
"Our time during the winter, you know,
was mostly absorbed in our efforts to have
what was called the Waymire bill enacted
into a law. We found that the public was
not quite ready yet for that. 1t took two
years for the New York public to be made
ready for Lexow Investigation. We
might possibly have succeeded with the
Fitzgerald bill. The fact is, however, that
we did better than if we had actually got
the Waymire bill through-we aroused
public sentiment. Now we will settle down
| to steady work for law and order and for
the good government of the city, and will
meet for that purpose on Wednesday.
ain dividing the federation into sections
! we will systematic the work in this
manner,
lone section will be known as the COM
mite on health and safety This section
will deal with all sanitation que stions, the
use of streets, the danger of electric light
wires and trolley wires and also the water
supply and the sewers-everything in
| fact, pertaining to the health and safety of
the city.
''The second section will be on 'Elec-
tions'-purity of elections. This is the
! kind of work well suited to the Good
Government Club and it will probably be
assigned to it.
1.-The third section will have to do with
Municipal Offices 1t will see to it that
such Offices are properly conducted-will
prevent, if possible, municipal corruption.
''Then there will be section on Police
Department. to cover the whole police
system of the city.
aside from the committee on public
morals dealing with the question of the
| social evil there is to be separate section
on gambling. The regular work of the
committee on public morals will deal with
| bad literature and the indecent and much
| ioked-about nude exhibitions Of the human
anatomy upon theatrical boards. Some
people seem to think that the Extensively
nude is eminently artistic. We consider
the disgustingly loud pictures posted in
public places to be not only grossly mar
| tistic but actually insulting to the public
| mind. The perpetrators of them seem to
assume that the people are no better than
| the indecent pictures wantonly forced upon
the sense of sight. Sometimes wonder if
the public has any rights which private
concerns are reasonably supposed to re-
! spect.
"a literary bureau will also be estab-
| lished in connection with this committee
| for the circulation of proper literature. l
| believe many of the crimes like this muir
der of two girls, which has just astounded
the city, can be traced to degrading Htera-
| ture, and the resultant loose relations be-
! tween the sexes. There seems to be a
general conspiracy of literary and theatre
| cal influences to produce, by appealing to
| the animal propensities of human nature,
a far-spreading saturnalia of unrestrained
license. We hope to lessen these baneful
| influences.
"Now, so as to be able to carry on the
work more successfully we contemplate
districting the city, and in each district we
expect to have club organized for pur-
poses of propaganda, to keep the matter of
| good government before the city in the
most aggressive manner.
THE Civic Federation is here to stay.
| 1t will abide so long as there is a reason
for its existence. OF course it takes long
time to move large community like San
| Francisco, but some of the smaller cities
have been profoundly awakened. 1 might
mention San Jose, Stockton, Los Ange-
| les, Santa Rosa Sacramento and Petaluma,
and in Alameda there has been general
| upheaval. The recent election in Oakland
shows what the reform movement is do
| ing. This matter of reform is the vital
subject of the times.
$50 far our federation has done pretty
| we'll in active referm. The gambling mat
tiers have all been turned over to the Law
and Order League. The Campbell cases
will come ZIP before jury in Judge Jo-
achimson's court Thursday afternoon. |
| will say, in reference to them, that if the
police authorities do not make out good
case against them we will, for we have
good evidence. We have succeeded in hav-
ing stopped the notorious exhibitions on
| Dupont street
"But all this work was purely incidental.
| On ,ct