The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-17
Even the Members of the Solid
Eight Seem Greatly
Amused.
BOMBASTIC SPEECHES MADE.
In Fit of Purity He Asks the Grand
Jury to Investigate "The Call 2"
and Examiner.

"Joe" King, saloon-keeper, reformer and
purist, made a desperate effort at yester-
DAYS meeting of the Board of Supervisors
to divert the attention OF the Grand Jury
from himself and his fellow-members of
the Solid Eight by an attack on THE CALL
aud Examiner, which have been instru-
mental in calling many queer-looking &C
tons to the notice OF that body, but he only
succeeded in making himself ridiculous.
Since the Grand Jury investigation be-
gan King has lost his jaunty air and has at
times BEEN extremely preoccupied and
startled when suddenly slapped on the
shoulder.
1t may be that his action of yesterday
was merely in emulation of the old crimi-
nal trick of yelling stop thief when pur-
sued and then joining in the pursuit of an
imaginary fleeing robber. At any rate he
made what, in the purlieus of his own
Barbary Coast district, would be termed
"a windy bluff"
The idea OF joe King posing as re-
former and pointing out the evils of others
was too much for even Messrs ScuIly
Benjamin, Hirsch, Hughes, bunker, Nor
genstern and Wagner, Ior their looks of
wonder turned to expressions OF the keen
est amusement, and their outlaws drowned
the hating voice of King as he strove to
find expressions to convey his meaning
Supervisor King was notlceably nervous
during the entire session. He made fire.
quent trips to the corridor, presume bly, for
inspiration, and was i'll highly excited
state when resolutions were called for.
With a pompous wave he handed the
bailiff three documents, and sat with de-
tant eyes while they were read.
The first referred to The disorderly houses
or Morton and st. Mary's streets. tire
quested that the District Attorney be
asked to define the powers of the board in
relation to the houses on the streets named;
that if possible they should be closed and
their deniZens driven hence. After some
discussion it was carried, though some of
the remaining members Of the Solid Eight
looked askance at King, as though ques-
tioning his sanity. One member was SO
dazed that he voted against the com bina-
ton, though he hastily changed his mo-
to aye" when his attention was called to it
by one OF his colleagues.
a resolution was then read calling upon
the Grand Jury TO request the presence of
the editors OF THE CALL and Examiner be-
fore that body.
1t recited that section BIZ of the Penal
Code makes the publishing of advertise
ment, of irregular practitioners a felony,
and that the ;nducing/of persons to visit
disorderly houses by any invention or de-
vice is punishable as a misdemeanor. The
resolution continued by stating that both
papers had repeatedly published adver-
tisements relating to these matters in de-
fance of~the law and clippings were in
serted to bear out the statement; that
the subject was one which might properly
be brought to the attention of the Grand
Jury and that the Board of Supervisors
was the proper body to perform that func-
ton.
The resolution, from its style, was evil
IDENTITY not drawn up by King, considera-
bic gift of language being evidenced in It's
com petition. Nor did the Supervisor at
The page OF typewriter thoughts which
he read with all the bombast of barn
storming tragedian was evidently entirely
unfamiliar TO him and he halted and
stammered and repeated until the effort
became absolutely painful to his auditors.
But their pain did not prevent their
risibilities from coming into play, and
roar of laughter, which even the chair
mans gavel, vigorously applied to the
desk, could not stop. Joe King turned
reformerl Ha, ha,I11al And then the
humor of the incident took firmer hold
than ever and every body roared again.
The ludicrous side of the situation
semed to strike even the reader, for his face
broke into fierce grin and he hesitated
moment to glare at the scoffers.
His temper was close to his sense of
humor, however, for when his face relaxed
he abandoned his purchased manuscript
and Numbered, with a grandiloquent
flourish of his arm:
Them papers has no right to publish
such things-it's agin the law. It's a dis
grace to the fair name Of San Francisco.
NJ
to them things and put stop to it,
Then he tried to refer again to the
manuscript, but his own and the bor-
rowed thoughts did not seem to connect
and he sat down suddenly.
Another thought, probably the one that
has bothered him for some time past,
seemed to strike him and he was on his
feet in an instant.
This Grand Jury have paid too much
attention to tie Supervisors, he said
LET them look after them newspapers /
have spoke about some"
''You seem to desire to divert the atten-
ton of the Grand jury" said Chairman
Taylor mildly, and the incident closed
with the adoption of the resolution by the
United vote of the Solid Eight.
The retormer's third resolution put the
rebuilding and equipping of the old City
Hall into the hands OF the Solid Eight
1t provided that the matter should be
taken out of the hands of the standing
Committee on Public Buildings and
Grounds, to which it would have gone in
the ordinary course OF events and created
a new standing Committee on Municipal
Buildings, composed of Messrs. BENJAMIN.
Wagner, Hirsch, King and Spreckels
The latter was doubtless put in to lend a
tone to the committee, and as the ma
jority rules in committees he will be
powerless to stay the operations OF the
rest.
Supervisor Dimond protested that to
take the matter out of the hands of the
Public Buildings Committee in such a
man ner was an insult, but the Solid Eight
was in favor OF the measure and it car
ried.
Saloon-keeper Wagner, another member
of the Solid Eight, also betrayed fear of
TIE Grand Jury in a remark made regard
ing the recently proposed sign ordinance
He opposed the measure when it came up
for passage to print, saying:
THAT ordinance was put up by the
Grand Jury. The jury thinks 1t is going
to run this board, and we ought to put a
stop TO that.
The order went to print, however, and
will come up for final passage at the next
meeting.
The Wagner resolution appointing an
architect and physician to draw up plans
for the proposed Home for Inebriates and
Dx,pSomanIacS WAS finally paSsad m pri>t