The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-01-21
BERKELEY.

It is possible that the board tonight will
set the date for the vote upon the charter.
At all events the ballot on the charter is
near at hand and the friends of better gov
eminent are getting concerned lest the
apathy of the electors in the eastern part
of town should give the western section an
opportunity to defeat the adoption of the
charter. There are several reasons for
thinking there will be opposition at the
West End.
The charter divides the town into seven
wards and the Trustees Will be elected one
from each word. This will decrease the
power of the West End in the town legisla-
lature as 1t will then have but two OF the
seven Trustees, whereas under the present
charter it has always been able to get at
least two and often three out OF five Trus-
tees. Again the West End on general
principles usually is against whatever the
''aristocratsn of the East End favor. To be
sure the West End Improvement Club is
in favor of the charter in the main, but 1t
consists of only a few of the more pro-
gressiYe ones of the section.
The Good Government Club of East
Berkeley, which numbers over hundred
of the most prominent citizens, will do
active missionary work to secure the pas
sage of the charter. The main trouble IS
the Indifference of a large part of the cit
liens of the east side. They are, in the
main, men whose business IS in San Fran
cisco. They never think it worth while to
be interested in local affairs, and usually
do not take the trouble to go to the polls.
IF the charter is in any danger of defeat it
is only because these men will not help to
express the opinion of the majority they
are part of. The main work of the Good
Government Club will be to arouse this
element from its indifference.
Discussed the Rates.
The Board of Trustees met as commit
tee of the whole Saturday evening to dis
cuss the matter of adjusting the water
rates for the coming year. The rates must
be fixed during the month of February,
but cannot be fixed before that time. At
torney Wagner, on behalf of the Alameda
Water Company, gave a statement OF the
water rates of other towns, in which he
claimed that the rates in Berkeley were
lower than the average elsewhere in towns
of the same size. A general discussion was
the only fruit of the meeting.
The Beginning of the Debate Season.
Wednesday evening the first of the de-
bates of the term will be held in Stiles
Hall, the Bushnell Union taking the
affirmative and the Student Congress the
negative of the question: Resolved, That
the single tax upon land in the United
States would be preferable to the present
| system of land tenures. The former socl-
ETY. Will be represented by MeSsIS. LoNelOy
and Coleman and Miss FELTON,. The con-
gress by Messrs. Clark, Friend and Nc
Noble.
Notes.
A masquerade ball will be given on Feb
ruary at Sisterna Hall by the West
Berkeley Social Club.
Evangelist Orr will continue his special
services at the North Berkeley Congrega-
tional Church.
Petitions have been circulated in Lorin
the past few days by Bert Thompson and
Otto Rudolph and sent to Sheriff White.
Each is an aspirant TOR the Office of Deputy
Sheriff Rudolph's record has bad break
in it that will probably count against him.
When deputy under Sheriff Hussey four
years ago he watched fight through
hole in the fence, and when it was over
rushed in and arrested the man who was
whipped. This led to his dismissal by the
Sheriff.