The San Francisco call., 1895-07-15
a VETO IN ADVANCE.

Gentlemen of the Board of Supervisors !:
This is special message directed to you
as individuals and as officials of the City
and County of San Francisco. You are to
meet together this afternoon to consider,
discuss and perform presumably your
duties as such officials. You cannot be in
sensible to the fact that your action in the
matter of the pretended sale and pro-
posed grant of street railroad
franchise over certain avenues out
to Ingleside have subjected those of
your body voting therefor to the very seri-
Gus animadversion OF an aroused public
opinion during the past week. You will
doubtless consider this matter individual
ly, collectively, and it may be officially, to-
day. There is yet time to recall your il
legal action and to withdraw your feet
from the precipice of penalties which
yawns before you in case you persist in
your attempt to do an unlawful and crimi-
nal official act.
This message is intended to make so
plain to you that your attempt by indi-
rection to evade the statute OF 1893 relating
to the sale of franchises is an illegal and
criminal official act that you must, if
you are honest, refuse to further pursue it..
The provisions of that act are clear
and unequivocal in their express
sion of its intent. 1t declares
that ''every franchise or privilege to
construct or operate railroads upon any
public street shall be granted upon the
conditions in this act provided, and not
otherwise" 1t provides that applications
for such franchise or privilege and notice
of the proposed sale thereof must de duly
advertised. 1t makes it imperative that
the franchise or privilege must be awarded
to the highest bidder.
This being the law, what have you done
in accordance to or in evasion OF its terms?
Two applications for a railroad franchise
out to Ingleside have been laid before you.
One of these has been ignored. The other
has been advertised. Conceding to you
the doubtful right to ignore an ap-
plicant, it must be admitted by you
that the franchise which you ad-
vertise to bidders must be such
q one as would excite competition; must be
so framed and offered as to be the subject
of q public sale. You must concede that
the logic of this proposition is irresistible
and that if you can so word your offered
franchises as to make them valuable to but
one bidder you can shut out competition
in every case, and thereby utterly defeat
and nullify the act OF 1898.
Look now at the franchise which you
have advertised for salel Read the pub
lished resolution as to what you propose to
sell! 1t is a franchise or privilege to con-
struct and operate railroad out to Ingle-
side "as an extension of and adjunct to
and in connection with the tracks OF the
Market-street Railway Company" The
condition that the railroad to be con-
structed under this franchise shall be con-
nected with the tracks of said company is
repeated over and over again in your
resolution. You do not need to
be advised that the franchise which you
sell must be the franchise which you ad-
vertise, and that the bids and the grant
must comply strictly with the terms of
the advertisement, or each is void. This
being so, who will bid for this franchise?
Who alone can construct or operate a
street railroad as an extension of and
adjunct to and in connection with the
tracks of the Market-street Railroad
SOul NJ OLC Dlt G11C laoG IdA4ACd
company Can you deny this or escape
its conclusion? Is it not matter of dem
onstration that you are going through the
form OF an advertisement which will be
futile and of a sale which will be n farce?
If you are doing or attempting to
do this, are you not plainly defeating,
evading and avoiding the provisions and
purposes of the statute OF 1893, and, if you
persist in doing so are you not laying
yourselves liable to the pains, penalties
and forfeitures which that statute imposes
upon those who are guilty of such actual
or attempted violation OF its terms?
These suggestions are submitted to you
to-day to be taken to your meeting and
weighed and considered there. They are
the veto in advance which public opinion
has placed upon your action IN the matter
of this franchise. Eight of your number
may disregard this veto and further proceed
in violation OF this law. But those of you
who do so, do it at your peril, and if here
after the hand of the outraged statute is
laid heavily upon you it will not be pos
sible to plead ignorance as defense or
mitigation of your crime. Gentlemen of
the Board of Supervisors, consider these
suggestions carefully to-day!
A CHILDREN's SANITARIUM.