The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-14
on Mr.. Bassett's head. Mr.. Leach is mad
all over about it and said yesterday.

all over about it and said yesterday.
A large portion of the above is a tissue of
falsehoods. The story that the Enquirer showed
the article to Harvey Brown or any other rail
road man, is simply a lie. Mr.. Bassett was told
that the Enquirer proposed to write up the
water front history itself and preferred to do it
in its own way.
The new Councilman-at-la gives out
the impression that the Enquirer did not
print the story, but in a speech which
| Mayor-elect Davie delivered February %,
| 1893, the latter said, after telling Bassett' S
story:
'Three or four days afterward there APP
| peared in the Enquirer our manuscript, as
| their own production, butchered and gar
| bled to suit the taste of the paper. How
did Leach get it? Had he time in few
days to get these facts? How did he get
it? He got it in an indecent way. He did
what no decent man would do. l know
how he got it. He copied my manuscript.
He chopped out all Objectionable features
| in my manuscript and published it as his
| own"
Editor Leach then follows up his defense
| in this way:
So, two years ago, the story was that the En-
quirer stole the narrative from Bassett and
published it, while now the charge seems to be
that the Enquirer refused to publish it. The
two versions appear to contradict one another.
As a matter of fact, the whole thing as relat-
| ed by Bassett is, as before stated tissue OF
| falsehoods. The truth is that on the 9th of
| November and the Sth of December, 1891, the
Enquirer printed two long articles, each filling
page, in which the history of the water front
was given in far greater detail than Davie gave
| it in the article he offered the Enquirer about
the same time.
| a story is afloat to the effect that Mayor
| elect Davie will not recognize the late
charter amendment election, by which the
| Board of Public Works was voted out of
| Office and its power given to a new board
composed of the Mayor, City Attorney and
| City Engineer.
"Such thing is not likely" said an
Oakland politician yesterday. "One OF
| the objections to the amendments was that
| the change contemplated would put too
much power in the hands of the Mayor in
| the way OF appointments and city affairs.
| When Pardee engineered those amend
ments he had Nelson in view as his success
sor and not Davie, and he fixed the matter
SO that Mr.. Nelson would have almost
autocratic powers. You don't suppose for
an instant that Davie would throw this
power to the wind. With things
in the old way he would have only
the appointment OF one member. Two
| of the present board would con-
| tinue to hold and the Mayor would find
himself in a beautiful minority. Under
| the new system he can reign almost SUI
preme, and, as he has the entire Street,
II uC anu OlICe unu0r MS
| charge, he would find no trouble in making
room for his friends
Mr.. Hoffman is still in a quandary. He
secured the most votes for Councilman-at-
large, but another man claims the office
because Hoffman is from the same ward as
"Old Pard" Bassett, also elected as Coun-
cilman-at-large.
In speaking of the muddle yesterday City
Attorney Johnson expressed the opinion
that Hoffman was eligible. He said:
81 have not looked into the matter very
closely as yet, but my impression is that
the four men having the highest number
of votes are the men elected. The Council
does not know where the candidates reside
They must canvass the vote. 1t will de-
volve then upon the person who is not sat-
isfied with the seating of Mr.. Hoffman to
make contest, and / presume he would
have to do that In the courts. To assume
| that Mr.. Hoffman is not entitled to his
seat would be admitting that a man could
not run independently for the office"
There is another complication over the
office of School Director in the Sixth Ward
where d. r. Ford secured the necessary
votes to elect. 1t is now said that Mr..
Ford is not the head of family, and on
this point the charter says: mo person
shall be eligible to the office of School
Director unless he is, at the time of his
election, the head of a family"
pleased with the election to the Oakland
Board of Education. She will be the first
| woman to serve in an official capacity in