The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-09
FOUR SUPERVISORS UNDER ANOTHER CLOUD,


They held meeting and raised some
money They went about openly getting
They levied on every one
they could.
The brewers sold them several thou
sand dollars worth of Stops each month.
This gave them that support. They en-
listed the wholesale butchers to whom
they sold their cows, and the stock dealers
from whom they bought them. Certain
grocers and saloon-keepers largely patron
lied by the milkmen were also made to
subscribe. The dairy-owners themselves
were particularly generous.
''And now what do you think they did
with that money?
''To be sure they had an attorney, but
his fee could not have been great. What
was left over was for some purpose. What
that was can be judged from their talk.
lone of the Mayer brothers told me,
There's no use of your fighting. We've
got the money and you can't get anything.
You might as we'll join with u.s. Other
men heard the same thing.
ALBERT c. Heyer, who is a clerk IN his
fathers grocery-store at 500 Third street,
was told by Mr.. bunker that he, Mr..
cause of the way he had voted on the
poand-limit petition. Think of it-a pig.
1t looks as if nothing were too small for
these Supervisors TO overlook. Doesn't
it?"
Mr.. Tessmer had many stories of the re-
marks let drop by the milkmen as to how
they had secured their victory. These, he
thinks, will enable the Grand Jury to adopt
a line of questioning that will get at the
truth.
1--WE think there has been bribery. If
there has the guilty parties ought to be
punished. But 1t is not revenge were
looking for so much as the overthrowlng
of the unjust oppression from which We
are suffering.
I'VE have delightfully."- situated neigh
borhood, but it don't grow, because people
who come out are frightened at the liberty
with which the cattle go everywhere. And
you can't blame them for going away dis
gusted when you know that you will be
laughed at and told that exercise is good
for the health if you complain to the
owner of an animals having chased you
block or so"
Another man who is in deadly earnest
in this matter is John Pfenninger, florist,
living at Somerset and Wayland streets.
He owns block of land on which he has
resided for many years. 1t is all under
cultivation, and he has suffered SO ire
quently from the depredations of maraud-
ing cows, whose owners only laughed at
his demands for reparation, that ne at last
decided to take the case before the Super
visors ana beg them to extend the pound
limit
He was not alone. Ex-Supervisor Good
win loaned his influence. G. w. Haight,
the attorney for the Lick Old Ladies'
Home, and Henry A. Crane, one OF the di-
rectors, appealed to the Supervisors. New
hall Brothers, Walter Crane, G. B. Hol-
brook, P. ]. Kennedy and others urged
the granting OF the petition. The story OF
the failure of their arguments has already
been related.
But Pfenninger has not despaired. He
has been threatened with bodily injury,
and has been reviled, but he has kept on
the even tenor of his ways. And every
time he got a chance he would begin to
pump the dairymen, and frequently
elected damaging testimony which he
carefully jotted down, usually IN his diary.
The result is that be would be particu-
larly interesting witness for the Grand
Jury.
One of the most important bits of infor-
nation is under the date of May Is, only
a short time after the Supervisors denied
his petition. Then a neighbor told him
that $500 had been paid to the Super
visors by the milkmen. The neighbor had
received this information, he said, from a
milkman named Borridori who said that
a bargain had been made with the COM
mittee for that sum. Mr.. Pfenniuger re-
saying that he had been pledged to secrecy
before the man would tell anything.
81 have received other information SINH
lar in import that | have every reason to
believe is true" he said. Zone day | rode
on the cars with Mrs. Bowers, who owns a
milk ranch near here. She told me my life
was not safe, as l was living alone. She
said that the milEmen had raised much
money and there was no chance OF win
or hot q nd MI tO a
my exertions. which would only cause me
trouble.
ga stock-dealer named Gradwohl told
me he had contributed $40 to the milk
mems funds. He is in the pound limit.
"Mr. Ofeman, groceryman at Tenth
and Howard streets, has admitted that he
gave money to help the cause of the dairy
men,"
Mr.. Pfenninger had note made after a
second conversation with the Mrs. Bowers
mentioned above. In this he has recorded
that she told him a cattle-dealer named
Kohn, living at Mission and Thirty-frst
streets, had contributed $1,000, and was
willing to give more if necessary.
The dairy of Bowers and Theis adjoins
Mr.. Pfenninger's property. A man named
Sollinger, working for Mr.. Pfenninger, told
pervisors had been fixed" by the milk.
men, who had raised large sum OF
money.
who is Sollinger?" was asked.
''He is a laborer. He is honest and
would not swear to lie, know" de-
clared Pfenninger.
An interesting conversation, of which
Mr.. Pfenninger has a note, is one with one
of the Mayer Brothers. Mr.. Mayer then
said that it was useless for Mr.. Pfenningel
to continue his struggle, adding that
right" didn't count, and money was the
milkmens legislator.
81 have made a careful computation o.
the properties held by the milkmen," said
Mr.. Pfenninger. "They control only
about 10 per cent of the land of the dis
trict. Most of them are renters. Theil
milk ranches without the public streets
usually consist of small lots, the possession
of which they have made the excuse for
running their stock upon their neigh bors
property free of rent. This means many
thousands of dollars for the milkmen, but
is a great injustice to the holders of the
other 80 per cent of the property