The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-20
A CRUEL REBUKE.

1t would be difficult to imagine a rebuke
more severe and at the same time more. I'M
consciously humorous than one which
Oakland has administered to San Fran
cisco. In the Oakland department of yes
terday's CALL the news was published that
the Alameda County Good Roads Associa-
ton will find firm ally in Mayor Davie,
and that zone of his pet schemes for the
improvement of the city is to put the
streets in excellent condition and keep
them So" This certainly is a most lauda-
BILE ambition, but to such of us in San
Francisco as would like to find some
thing in the condition of the City streets to
be proud of it is quite startling.
For these many years Oakland has been
famous for her beautiful streets. Her wise
residents know the great value of excellent
pavements, and they may ascribe much of
their city's prosperity to that cause. There
are doubtless thousands of San Franciscans
who live in Oakland mainly because of the
smooth, noiseless, clean and pleasant
streets of that charming city: or, to state
it, perhaps, more accurately, there are
thousands of Oaklanders who do business
in San Francisco, but who cannot be in
duced to live here. The Furnishing livery
stables of Oakland probably do as much
business as those in San Francisco, because
the streets of Oakland are so delightful and
drives are possible to all points and in
every direction, while in San Francisco
horseback riding and buggy driving are
tortures that few San Franciscans have the
courage to invite. In addition to this rid
ers of bicycles could tell an eloquent story.
1t may be really possible that Oakland
streets can be made better than they are,
but the bone-shaken residents of San
Francisco, who will naturally regard the
matter in comparative sense, can hardly
imagine how Oakland's streets can be made
better or more inviting except by paving
them with gold.
Undoubtedly Oakland receives annually
more San Francisco money because of hav-
ing excellent pavements than would be
required to put even in decent order ten,
or perhaps twenty, miles of our own
streets. And Oakland eminently deserves
il, and would doubtless have more were it
possible or convenient for more San Fran
ciscans to live in that city. OF course
Oakland has many other attractions, in
Guiding delightful climate and thousands
of the most exquisite flower gardens, which
give evidence of the pride even of her
poorest residents. And then, too, rents
are somewhat lower, because ground val
ues are less, her people seeming to possess
some sort of instinct which moves them,
in the fixing of property values as well as
in all other matters, to do the wisest and
most profitable things for the benefit of
their city. But that the splendid streets
of Oakland are special attraction and are
efficient in Turing so many San Francis
cans from their own City no sensible
person will deny.
Thus, by reason of making herself pleas
ant and attractive, Oakland is growing
somewhat at the expense of her older,
more supercilious and immeasurably more
stupid and less progressive neighbor. This
is as it should be, for Oakland has honestly
and intelligently earned her reward. And,
measuring the possibilities of the future
by the experiences of the past, Oakland,
with no reason to believe that San Fran
cisco will ever wake from her slumber
may cherish the hope that as the popula-
ton OF the bay region increases, and Oak
land shall recover her water front and then
install wharfage facilities for the proper
handling of deep-sea traffic, she will in
time command the commerce of the Golden
Gate. She knows that San Francisco al
ready is taxed dollar a ton each way for
the ferrying of overland freights across the