The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-19
THE PORTALS AND
THE new CHARTER.
Mr.. CLEMENT TELLS THEM SOME
THING He KNOWS
ABOUT IT.
WILL TAKE THEIR TURN NEXT
AND TELL THE PUBLIC WHAT THEY
THINK OF IT AT So MUCH
PER HEAD.

The Portals, capped and gowned, in
numbers sufficient to fill their clubrooms
in the Mills building, last evening looked
with kindly eyes upon the proposed new
charter. Heard with kindly ears is more
literal-for students though they are and
lawyers though they would be, the Portals
are still women, and having the charms of
the new charter presented so entertainingly
as H. G. Clement did it, they must neces-
sarily sympathize.
To be sure some of them asked him some
| sharp questions about the charter, but he
met them all SO promptly and answered
them apparently so satisfactorily that
when he looked at his watch for the last
time, with look that cried out "time!n as
eloquently as perfect silence may cry out,
and then sat down and the worthy dean
took the chair to suggest a vote of thanks,
the heartlness OF the response seemed to
say:
"Oh, wise Judge! oh, just Judge! the
| charter is just right"
Mr.. Clement prefaced his entertaining
talk by expressing his pleasure at being
| called to address the only woman's law
| club In the country and saying that when
the ladies of a commonwealth begin to take
| an interest in such dry-as-dust topics as
fundamental law the fact speaks for itself
! The charter was hedged with difficulties,
said MIR. Clement, but the greatest of these
is the tangle in which the Supreme Court
hnds itself concerning charters in general.
| Their decisions have made all charters sub
| servlent to general laws, even the charters
| made by freeholders.
The only way the freeholders' charter
may be made a general law is to take it to
the Legislature, have it read three times
and passed and signed by the Governor
Just imagine such proposition" he said,
'to emanate from intelligent men-but
ought not to say that, for these are men
eminent in their profession
But Mr.. Clement made it clear that when
we have our charter it may be overridden
and its best points neutralized by acts of
Legislature under the decision of the
Supreme Court.
He stepped over this subject to that of
the ''vast powers to be placed in the hands
OF the Mayor, about which there has been
so much talk
The fact is, he said, the only officer
whom the Mayor can appoint more than
he has power to appoint now is the City
Attorney. He has vast power for good.
but none for evil for he can remove any
officer, even the elective officers, upon
proof of wrongdoing. 1t is a modern in
strument following those of Eastern cities
that has been tried and approved by
experience. 1t is the first CITY charter of
the country to introduce civil service rules
in its departments and will do away with
the paltry trading in clerkships that makes
bosses.
"The Assessor just now is engaging
number of clerks to assess property and fix
the assessment-rolls. How is this done =?
The Assessor must ask the Supervisors for
an appropriation. All right say the |
Supervisors, how many of your deputies |
will you allow us to appofnt-there are
twelve of us| He grants them the privi-
lege of appointing a certain number in
consideration of a liberal appropriation.
sit is so with the Tax Collector, who also
periodically employs large numbers of
deputies. In this way they intrench
themselves with patronage and dicker away
the peoples money. This city ought to
be carried on with half the money that it
costs now. Any business man could go
| down there to the City Hall and take
charge of the whole thing and run it for
half what is spent. The whole system of
eminent. 1t has grown up through years
| of complaisant Legislatures that have given
| powers to the different departments year
| after year, as they asked for them.
1.-THE new charter seeks to rob all the de-
partments of powers that do not belong to
them. The legislative, judicial and execu
| tive functions will be separated. The Su-
pervisors will appoint only their clerk
| and they have been wise enough to APP
point year after year the same clerk, and [
| do not know what would become OF US
without that same John H. Russell. The
/ officers are designed to be appointive, but
! by the civi-service rule the low element of
| trading is eliminated. The voter need not
get lost in the great number of officers to
| be voted for Some distinguished man
whom we all know is singled out and the |
contest made on him."
| Mrs Bradstreet wanted to know what |
assurance we had that the Mayor would be |
so much above the politicians.
| The speaker said that it was the expert |
| ence of Eastern cities that where the office |
was made desirable by its honors trust |
worthy men were found to fill it with |
| honor.
| Mrs. Bradstreet thought that where so |
much power was placed In the hands OF |
one man designing and powerful corpora |
tions might put in pliable men for their |
| own purposes but Mr.. Clement replied to |
| this by saying that corporations exercised |
| their powers over conventions, secured |
| the nomination of men to their purpose, |
| and when elected under the present sys- |
tenn they were not to be removed.
The dean, Mrs. Foltz, paid Mr.. Clement |
a high tribute of praise for his discourse, |
and the club Joined in vote of thanks It |
was decided to discuss the charter at the |
next meeting by the members, and upon |
motion of Mrs. Harrison, the registrar, |
with view of replenishing the treasury,
the public, it was decided, should be ad-
mitted at the rate of Is cents per capita.
THERE are many ways of baking-Dr.
n - 4.