The San Francisco call., 1895-05-24

| has presented the City with S30 900 in this
experiment and demonstration, and the
| City should be willing to pay its own way
| in the future"
Superintendent Ashworth = Is this
| money represented in the daily reports
submitted to me by the association?
s'Yes, sir'
''I cannot discover it-never have seen
it. have the figures here"
THAT is because you don't understand
them. They are there, nevertheless.
Would you like to go over the items with
me?'
II have them here. 1 will just read
them to the committee" and he began to
do it."
"What is the purpose of this, sir?" in
qulred Dohrmann little hotly. Us 1t TO
show that my figures are not correct?
ooh, no, not at all" and the Superln-
tendent dropped his papers and tried to
yawn.
SNOW" continued Mr.. Dohrmann, Il
simply want to advise the committee that
the City must be prepared to take charge
of this work on June 81. The Merchants
Association has no more money. l have
to say that the Superintendent OF Streets
has given US full latitude in our work. He
has said that he would not interfere with
us, bat that if he was doing it he would not
do it our way. Now, with the first OF July
he will have to take charge of it. we have
still month to work, and l Will make
this proposition. He may conduct the
work for this month with our cordial co-ope-
ration. Where he tells us to go we will go; we
Will work under his order, with only the
stipulation that the City shall pay US our
contract price of 80 cents, which it has not
done heretofore. If there is profit at the
end of the month the Merchants Assocla-
ton will give the City double-yes, treble
the amount. Now is his chance. There
seems to be an impression that the Mer-
oh fCl hno oal -JT1cr
money. We have been hard at work for
seven months at this thing, and we think
we know what we are talking about. When
we bid 30 cents square yard on this con-
tract, the bid next nearest to it was 521@
cents"
was nearer the mark than your own?'
said the man who offered it, who was sit
ting by.
''To our sorrow, yes" said Dohrmann,
"but we counted on that"
Ashworth puffed cigar and was silent
sin considering this contract it must be
taken into consideration that the law
fixes eight hours as days work" re-
marked Clerk Russell.
"There is nothing of the kind in our
contract, said Dohrmann. "Our men have
worked ten hours"
1T is the law" said Russell.
''I begin to feel that we have been out
laws all the time" said Dohrmann, rue
fully.
Ashworth now undertook to show that
while the association lost money on some
parts of their work they made it up on
others.
'sThe figures here show that, besides con-
tributing $50, 900 to this fund" said Dohr-
mann, 1--WE have donated $4,000 outright,
which the Citythas not paid on the contract
price, and it seems very strange that the
superintendent seems incapable of under
standing that, in order to save the City
$4,000, it has cost US over $4,000"
stThen the Merchants Association must
be out of pocket on the job," said Ash
worth.
Exactly. We have been trying to make
it plain to you for seven months that we
started in with the idea of losing money
Everybody in the City knows that. The
papers have been full of it."
what you want" said Mr.. Benjamin,
sis to see that enough money is appropri-
ated to pay for cleaning the streets under
| specifications that will secure it. Is
| that it?'
THAT is Just it'
"And you won't bid ?"
"We don't want the contract; we only
want clean streets, and will bid only if we
feel that it is necessary. 1t is not our
business and we want to make no money
out of it, If we don't bid we may exercise
such supervision as is deemed advisable by
the association" =.
The question of sprin king was discussed
and it was deemed best to recommend that
1t be separated from the cleaning contract
| Clerk Russell remarked that if levy
| was made for $150,000 and all of the sum
was MT used the remainder would serve as
a fund for the Improvement of streets, and
money was needed in that direction, so it
was unanimously agreed that S15O 900
| would be called for for street cleaning.
| The petition for the paying of Folsom
| street came up early in the day, and was
assented to with rush. The proposition
| is to put down the best possible bitumen
pavement from East street to Nineteenth.
Estimates of the cost of the work were
| submitted by A. B. Mcguire and by the
| Superintendent of Streets. Maguire's esti-
| mate was ST. 1866 and Ashworth's was
| $73,76S 80.
Mcguire appeared on behalf of the prop
! erty-owners, and set forth the necessity of
the improvement, which necessity is very
well understood. He was supported in his
remarks by George D. Shadbourne and
George l.. Center.
1t was also understood by the speaker
that there is no money to proceed with the
work at once, but what they wanted was a
provision for it in the tax levy to be made,
and it was agreed that it would be recon-
mended to the sum of $4,000.
Ex-Supervisors Dundon and Denman
and others occupied a large part of the
afternoon in an appeal for the granting of
the right to the property-owners to cut down
the grade OF Beale and Harrison streets,
at their junction, twenty feet The COM
mittee decided against the petition, but in
favor OF paving and sewering the street.
The petition for the extension of the
franchise of the San Francisco and San
Mateo Railroad, which had another of its
occasional hearings, was not acted upon,
the matter being postponed for another
three weeks.