The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-30
IT MAY Be A WAY OUT,
The Supervisors Pass a Res
olutiOn Promising
to Pay.
NOW TO THE SUPREME COURT.
The Plan to Hold Out Salaries
Meets With Little
Support.

The efforts tot pull the City out of its
distressful financial difficulty was begun
yesterday on the lines which the CALL of
yesterday morning said would be en-
ployed.
The report of the Finance Committee
which was presented to the Board of Su-
pervisors at its meeting yesterday after
noon led the way. It referred to the deci-
sions of the court which upheld the doc
trine that the purchases of one fiscal year
cannot be paid out of the funds of another,
and then said that the doctrine was good,
but that it had been interpreted too much,
so to speak-had been carried too far;
that the doctrine that contractors are sup
posed to know the condition of the treas
ury and the law, also, as to the City's liza
bility had led them to refuse to furnish
further supplies and was wrong; that the
language ofthe court to the effect that no
debt which the Supervisors had discretion
to incur or not to incur could be paid out
of any money of the succeeding fiscal year
could not apply to the purchase of provi-
sons for the maintenance of the Citys in
stitutions, for that was beyond the Super
visors' discretion-the Argument, in fact,
that was quoted from Judge McKinstry in
the CALL yesterday.
Then followed the resolution announc-
ing the intention of the board to levy tax
for next year sufficient for the payment of
bills contracted for supplies purchased
now, and which throws down the gauntlet
to previous theories on this question. 1t
reads as follows:
Resolued, That whereas there are no funds in
the treasury to meet the Obligations constltu-
tional and statutory enforced upon this board
to carry on and maintain the public institu-
tions and departments or TO perform govern
mental functions, and the merchants who
have furnished supplies, owing to that fact
have given notice that no more supplies
Will be furnished after the 30th day of this
month; and whereas. such a condition, unless
averted, would be fraught with grave conse-
quences, the lives and property of our citizens
jeopardized and the various functions of the
municipality suspended; therefore be it
ResoIued That this board hereby determines
and declares that it WILL in the tax levy of the
coming fiscal year, raise and provide therein
sufficient funds to pay all demands out of the
fund of that year to pay for goods, wares and
merchandise furnished and services performed
which were absolutely necessary for the sup
port and maintenance OF the municipality
during the present fiscal year.
Resolved, That on and after the LIST day of
July, 1895 the board will allow and order
paid all of the demands for goods, wares and
merchandise furnished and services performed
TO enable the municipality to perform its re-
spectiYe functions during the present fiscal
year.
This was presented by Chairman Taylor
of the Finance Committee and no voice
was raised against it. The next step in
the programme is for some one to go be-
fore the Supreme Court and ask for an
order restraining the board, or a writ of
mandate or whatever may be proper, to
stay the purpose of the resolution and by
that means secure a decision from the
court as to the right OF the board to levy
such tax.
To go to court a lawyer is necessary.
City Attorney Creswell is the proper per-
son to represent the board, but he has
been arguing on the other side of this
same question so long, on behalf of the
City too, that the board cannot ask him to
straddle such a wide situation, and &C
cordingly the next step was represented by
the following resolutions:
WHEREAS, In case of litigation affecting the
right of this board to provide in the levy of next
year sufficient funds to pay for goods, wares
and merchandise supplied during the present
year to enable the municipality to perform its
constitutional and statutory duties, it is proper
that the City and County should be repre-
scented; therefore,
RESOLVED, That the Franchise Committee are
hereby empowered to employ E. w. McKinstry
and A. L. Rhodes as special counsel on behalf
proceedings are instituted to question the
power of the board to provide for and pay the
expense OF maintaining the government.
This also was not opposed. Steps will be
taken to-day to prepare case and take it
to the Supreme Court.
If the court decides that the City has the
right to lew a tax. to be collected in the
next fiscal year. to pay for goods purchased
now, it is said the atmosphere will clear at
once, for the contractors will no longer
hesitate to furnish all that may be desired
and wait for their pay.
In the meantime, however, the cupboard
is growing bare in all the institutions. Sup
erintendent Weaver of the Almshouse is
in absolute distress about his people. He
says the 900 inmates are already on short
rations. He was downtown yesterday
making personal pleadings with the con-
tractors for a load of potatoes and only Sc
cured it upon a written guarantee that the
money would be forthcoming to-day.
No supplies will be furnished any of the
institutions after to-day unless assurance
is given that there are funds in the treas
ury to meet them.
The heads of departments were in SEES
sion almost all of yesterday discussing the
proposition to hold out the salaries of the
employes-for which there will be lust
about money enough-but no conclusions
were reached. The Mayor and Chairman
Taylor thought such a remedy shall be
spontaneous on the part of the clerks
themselves, but it was anything but that
The discussion went all over the ground
that has been covered at previous meet
ings for the same purpose. 1t consumed
all the morning and adjourned to the
afternoon. At the afternoon session the
champions of the salary scheme intro
duced an even more drastic suggestion-that
the heads of departments and others do
nate, say, half their salaries for a month
outright to the City with which to tide the
institutions over until the taxes begin to
come in.
This met with no enthusiasm whatever
1t was the result of the opposition
to the mere holding-out-of-th
until -of-the-month plan. This op-
position declared that it was not law
full; that a thing cannot be done indi-
rectly under the law which is unlawful
to be done directly. That is, if there are no
funds for the contractors this year, but are
funds for salaries, it would be unlawful to
give the money to the contractors and
allow the warrant holders to be paid out of
next years funds. There will be another
meeting to-day to further discuss this phase
of the case.
Auditor Broderick has prepared an esti-
mate of the shortage liable to be found in
the treasury at the end of the fiscal year,
and whence it comes.
1t includes amounts of money which