The San Francisco call., 1895-07-20
THE BATTLE BEGUN.

The filing of a complaint before the
Superior Court yesterday, having for its
object the ousting of the Solid Eight from
their seats and the forfeiture of the office
of each of them as a member of the Board
of Supervisors, begins a legal battle the
outcome of which is of the utmost interest
and consequence to the people OF San
Francisco. The allegations of the COM
plant appear to be most ample to put in
issue the construction and validity of the
statute of 1893 with reference to the sale OF
railroad franchises and at the same time
to determine whether its penalties can be
applied to officials who have done the acts
of alleged malfeasance set forth in detail
therein.
The statute of 1898 is quite brief and
simple in its declaration of the manner in
which railroad franchises may be granted
by the governing boards of cities. 1t Is
pa rticular to state that such franchises
may be granted by means of specified
process, "but not otherwise" 1t is
equally specific in its requirement that
such franchises when applied for shall be
duly advertised, and shall thereafter be
sold to the highest bidder. 1t is also un-
usually clear and specific in defining what
penalties shall follow the willful violation
of its terms. 1t is now to be determined
whether these several plainly stated pro.
visions of the statute mean anything, or
whether the intendments of State law
may be avoided and evaded and nullified
by the combined juggleries of powerful
corporation and a ductile majority of the
Board of Supervisors.
An examination of the statute of 1893
will show that there is not a single word
or phrase within it which supports the con-
tention upon which the members of the
Board of Supervisors who have been
brought to bar must depend for their
escape from Judgment of the court i'm
posing the express penalties of the statute.
The act provides that "every franchise to
construct railroads on any public street"
must be advertised, bid for, and granted,
as in said act provided. 1t must be
awarded to the highest bidder" There
is not a word in the act exempting "exten-
sions. adjunct to, and connecting WITH" al
ready laid lines from the provisions of the
statute, yet the Solid Eight claim to
have found a way by which the fortunate
pOSS0SSOT VI Oll6 1IduCElSS lOI
upon the City streets no longer becomes
vulgar bidder for other franchises to lay
railroads upon other streets than those
already occupied; for by a simple sentence
incorporated in his application and carried
into its advertisement by plant Board
of Supervisors he may have his desired
franchise sold at an auction at which he can
be the only bidder. 1t must be very
evident that if this can be done the
statute of 1898, which seems so clear and
comprehensive, is in fact vain and idle
mockery of words.
Whether it is so or not is matter of the
utmost consequence to the people of San
Francisco who have seen their valuable
franchises flched and frittered away for
years, and who are now to learn whether
this policy and process is to continue in
spite of the effort on the part of the Legis-
lature to prevent it. The outcome of the
present litigation will be watched with ex-
ceeding interest by the people, not only of
San Francisco but of every other city in
the State which has railroad franchises to
sell or give away.