The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-05
with people summoned to testify

crowded with people summoned to testify
relative to his methods, he said
"They can make all the row they want.
The Grand Jury can't hurt me that much"
dropping piece of blank paper upon his
desk. 81 don't know what it's all about
INFLOW, unless it's the A. P. A. l believe
it s the A. p. A. and nothing else. AS for
this Twelfth-street matter, it's all right.
L have been to see it pers onally and find
1t to be in every respect d good job. Why,
the concrete that they com plain about was
only put down yesterday. In fact they
had not completed it-have not completed
it yet. -
Now, I have this to say" he went on;
''if catch any of these so-called experts
digging up the streets | will have them
arrested. want them and everybody else
to understand that l am Superintendent of
Streets and am responsible for the streets
laid and am not going to have nybody
digging them up while the work of laying
pavement Is going forward or after it is
completed.
II do not recognize these alleged ex-
perts in any way-they are not officials,
and have no more right to dig up the
street than any other citizen. Besides
what they want-the basis of their criti-
cism-ls not in line with good bituminous
rock pavement. They declare the surface
OF the concrete must be smooth, while it is
| very necessary that it be rough, in order
that the bituminons rock may bind with
or have purchase upon it. have seen
this work on Twelfth street, and l am
satisfied that it is up to specifications, and,
therefore, do not care what they say or
| do about it before the Grand Jury or else
where. l would like to be summoned be-
| fore the Grand Jury and I can prove what
L say. 1t IS all case of prejudice against
| ma nv tpHi l.
! trying to make trouble for me ever since l
have been in Office, but they cannot do me
any harm. / shall do what | think is
right"
The members of the Street Committee
have never seemed to be preiudiced against
your"
No, not at all, and they are perfectly
satisfied with this work"
But they say that they are not"
They have made no complaint to me-
and am sure they will be satisfied with it,
AT this very moment, as stated, men,
! bers OF the Street Committee, Messrs. Ben
jamin, Hughes, Morgenstern and bunker
were waiting III the anteroom of the Grand
Jury, summoned there for the very pur-
pose of telling that body what they knew
or this Twelfth-street iob-how they had
! found 1t very faulty and at the same time
! had found deputy of the Street Depart
ment standing by and making no protest.
| Other questions also were put to them con-
corning other methods of the Street De-
partment or at least affecting those at
| tached to it.
These members of the Street Committee
repeated the assertions they had made the
| day before that the work was of a charac-
ter that they would not accept.
George w. Elder, expert for Chairman
| Spreckels of the Street Committee, being
asked concerning the statements made by
Ashworth, said:
| Mr. Aoh -.
terial point. When he says the concrete
examined and condemned was laid only
yesterday it is clear he does not keep
posted. That concrete had been down
seven days and the bituminous rock was
about to be laid over it. When he says we
want smooth surface on the concrete he
Is talking nonsense-he knows we want O
! such thing. Look at the concrete surface
on Van Ness avenue, between Eddy and
Ellis streets. Is is as rough as that on
Twelfth street, but it is properly mixed
with cement and is genuine concrete, and
we have approved it. / ran my heel
through the entire depth of that Twelfth
street mixture, The contractor simply
said it was weak spot. The fact is it was
full of weak spots.
"Mr. Spreckels was down to look at it
again this morning, and we found them
patching up those holes and spreading
| Watery mixture over the entire surface to
give 1t the appearance of soliditv. Now,
as for my digging holes in the street and
being arrested for it, that is not likely.
| what holes dug yesterday were dug in
the presence of the mem bers of the Street
| Committee, under whose directions Mr..
Ashworth works.
George I. Gaden. expert for Mayor Su-
tro, examined the Twelfth-street Job yes
terday, and had this to say: "They con.
| tractors may go ahead on that work if
they want to. but Mayor Sutro will never
approve their warrant for it, that 1 am
sure of. 1t appears now that in an at
tempt to clear up the surface they have
taken OFF the loose stones with the result
that there is probably but four inches in
, stead OF Six OF the so-called concrete. This
excuse of Ashworth's that we want a
smooth surface is an oId-timer. He t-ots