The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-01-27
de GANG' DEFEATED.
The Board of Public Works
Showed Under.
-FOUR AMENDMENTS CARRY.
Only Legislative Ratification Now
Necessary.
MARITAL WOES OF MIR. F0RSYTHE.
Possible Identification Of an Oakland
HighWayman in San Francisco
Prisoner.
MARITAL WOES OF MIR. FORSYTHE.

'ReformerS" are now celebrating. The
charter amendments yesterday secured the
necessary vote, and, after ratification by
the Legislature, which it is thought will be
speedily had, the old Board of Public Works
will be a thing of the past
The vote was a small one, but it is argued
that greater vote would have increased
the majority for the anne ndments as the
floating or Communication vote did not go to
the polls at all and would have favored the
amendments. The total vote cast was
4844. The necessary three-tifths to carry
would be 1907. The amendments secured
1927, which is $50 more than enough.
The vote from the wards in detail was as
follows: First Ward-For, AS; against,
211. Second-For, $50: against, 201. Third
For, 534; against, 166. Fourth-For, 467,
against, 217. Fifth-For, Sal; against, 17S.
Sixth-For, 3O1; against, $50. Seventh
For, 587; against, 274.
In only one ward were the amendments
beaten. That was the Sixth, where the
vote stood, for 301 and against $50.
Not every Oaklander knows Just what
Yesterdays election was about. For long
time there has been a clash between the
Board of Public Works and the Council,
and only few months ago an election to
choose Board of Freeholders to make
new charter or amend the present one was
stopped by decision of Judge Greene, and
the friends of the Board of Public Works
thought that the Council would stop at
that. But another ordinance was framed
and passed which embraced the amend
ments carried yesterday, and which reads
as follows:
Be it ordained by the Council of the city of
Oakland as follows:
Section l. The Council of the city of Oakland,
county of Alameda, State of California, hereby
| proposes the following amendments to the
charter of said city, to wit:
That section So of article VI of said charter
be amended as to read as follows:
Sec. 50. There shall be a Department OF Pub
| lie Works, under the management OF three
Commissioners, who shall constitute the Board
of Public Works. The Commissioners shall
consist OF the Mayor, City Attorney and City
pensation for services rendered as such Com
missioner. The City Attorney and City En-
gineer shall receive in addition TO their
respective salaries yearly salary of 5000 each
of the Board of Public Works. This amend
ment herein proposed shall be known and
designated as amendment No. l to the charter
of the city of Oakland, State of California.
That section of article II OF said charter be
amended so as to read as follows:
Sec. z. General municipal elections shall
be held biennially, on the second Monday in
March, commencing with the second Monday
in March next after the adoption of this amend
L..
shall be elected Mayor, who shall be ex-officio
a Commissioner of Public Works, eleven men,
beers of the Council, eleven members of the
Board of Education an Auditor who shall be
ex-officio Assessor, q Treasurer who shall be
ex-officio Tax Collector, City Attorney who
shall be ex-officio Commissioner OF Public
Works, and City Engineer who shall be ex-
officio Commissioner of Public Works. This
amendment herein proposed shall be and shall
be known and designated amendment 2 to
the charter OF the city OF Oakland State of
California.
That section As OF article v be amended so as
TO read as follows:
Sec. As. The City Attorney shall be an at
torney and counselor at law, duly admitted to
practice by the Supreme Court of this State,
and shall have been actually engaged in the
practice of his profession for at least FIVE years
previous to his election. 1t shall be his duty to
attend to all suits and other matters in which
the city may be legally interested; to give his
advice or opinion in writing whenever required
| by the Mayor, Council, Board OF Education,
Board of Public Works, Auditor, City Clerk or
Treasurer; and TO do and perform all such
other things touching his Office may be re-
quired of him by the Mayor, Council Board of
Education or Board of Public Works. He shall
draft and approve all official or other bonds
quired by this charter, or by ordinance, resolu-
ton, motion or order of the Council, Board of
Education or Board of Public Works, save and
except his own bond. His bond shall be drafted
and approved by the Mayor. This amendment
herein proposed shall be and shall be known
and designated amendment number 3 to
the charter OF the city of Oakland, State of Cali
fornia.
That section ~ of article VI be amended so
as to read as follows:
Sec. 70. The City Engineer shall perform all
civil engineering and surveying required in
the prosecution of the public works and i'm
provementS done under the direction of the
Board of Public Works, and shall certify to the
progress and completion of the same, and do
such other work pertaining to his profession as
he may be directed to do by the Board of Pub
lie Works or the City Council or by any general
law OF the State OF California. He shall possess
the same power in the city in making surveys,
plats and certificates as is or may be from time
to time given by law to the County Surveyor,
and his official acts and all plats, surveys and
certificates made by him shall have the same
validity and be of the same force and effect as
are and may be given by law to those of the
County Surveyor. With the consent and APP
proval of the Board of Public Works the City
Engineer may appoint such deputies as the
duties OF his office may require, the number of
such deputies, however, not to exceed the num-
Der that may be fixed from time by the Council.
This amendment herein proposed shall be and
shall be known and designated as amendment
number to the charter OF the city of Oakland,
State of California.
The Woes of Old Man Forsythe.
The deposition of Blanche Williams
arrived from ST. Louis, Mo-, yesterday. 1t
is for use in the case of Benjamin F. For
sythe against his WIFE, Mary l.. Forsythe.
her daughter Mary Stuart Williams, and
a real-estate dealer named J. M. Austin.
The suit is one in which Forsythe is try
ing to recover Oakland property of the
value of $4,000 which he decided to his wife
some years ago and which he alleges she
decided away to her daughter and Austin
without right so to do, and now he wants
it back.
The story in the lives of the Forsythes
began sixteen years ago, when Forsythe,
even then a man well on in years, married
pretty widow named Mary L. Williams,
the mother of two pretty daughters. The
couple went to live in Lorin, but the
erratic ways of the old man brought strife
into the household.
After few years the wife left him, but
previous to the separation the husband
decided to her the property in dispute. The
consideration is alleged by him to have
been that his wife always provide him with
a home and care for him. When she left
him, however, she decided the property
away, and this angered Forsythe and he
brought the suit to recover.
In her deposition, the stepdaughter.
Blanche Williams, says: "My mother
treated Mr.. Forsythe as gently and as
kindly as if he was baby, receiving in re-
turn nothing but abuse" She states that
Forsythe was in fair health but feigned i'll
ness. He was very abusive and at one
time attempted to stab his WIFE The latter
was compelled to leave her husband.