The herald., 1895-05-08
THOUGHT 1T WAS A JOB
The Valley Railroad People Reject the
Basin Lease
Technicalities the rlain Reason for Going Out
Of the Characterization
Too Onerous

SAN FRANCISCO. May THE China
Basin lease was rejected today by the
San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley
Railroad company. In it's amended form
the document was held to contain con-
dltlons too onerous for acceptance. and
not to conform to the spirit of the act of
the legislature authorizing the renting of
water front premises to competing rail-
road. The directors appointed Messrs
Magee. Sloss. WatG and Patterson to COM
municate this determination in writing
to the governor, the mayor and the state
board OF harbor commissioners, who viii
assemble tomorrow morning to again con-
slider the lease.
There are two principal clauses to which
objection is made. These require the
railway company TO build the retaining
wall and forbid the assignment or transfer
OF the lease or any interest therein.
The lease was not accepted" said
Vlce-President Watt, because it imposed
too onerous conditions OH the San Joa-
quin Valley Railway copmany and ham
pered 1t in a manner not conte pmlated by
the legislature in the act which author
lied the execution of the lease to q com
peting railroad. We did not go through
the document seriatum and did not take
up the clauses inserted therein on motion
OF Mayor Sutro, but confined our atten-
tion to the prohibition of assignment and
the obligation to build the sea wall. The
second OF these provisions is objection
able for the reason that it would prevent
the floating of bonds. which, from the
nrnSant hor -
the road is to come to San Francisco, and
for the further reason that it would pre-
vent us from placing mortgage. which
you know would be lien on all of the
property and might be construed as an
attempted assignment involving the for
feiture Of the lease to the basin. -
"While there is no prospect O. trouble at
present, it is always we'll to provide for
the worst. and if misfortune or insolvency
should overtake the company an assign
ment or transfer to its new owners. the
bondholders, would carry road without
terminus as the lease would have ex-
pired. Under these conditions people
would say, of what value is a railroad
without terminus? The.other great OBJ
lection to the document as prepared is
that it requires the San Joaquin Valley
railroad 70 construct seawall at the be-
hest of the harbor commission. This is
not just. We are obliged to pay wharf
age, dockage and tolls. the same as the
Southern Pacific or anyone else, but they
are furnished with a seawall built at the
expense of the state, while we would be
compelled to build one out of our own
pockets"
Director Upham said the competing
railroad had been very fairly treated by
the harbor commissioners themselves.
but the governor and the mayor had in
sisted on placing in the lease conditions
that were not acceptable.
At today's meeting of the board of di-
rectors of the new road it was determined
that steel bridge should be constructed
over the Mormon channel at Stockton.
1t will be a revolving bridge of handsome
design, and will be center pier with
clear openings, probably seventy-five feet
on each side. 1t will be located at Edison
street.
Builders will be asked to submit designs
and figures