The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-06
The Bituminous Rock Monop-
oily Ordinance Is Crushed
to Earth.
RESULT OF A FULL HEARING
Another Big Victory for the People
and Their Rights Has Been
Secured.

hearing OF the case from those most IN
terested and who know most about it.
His office was well filed with bitumin-
ous-rock men and contractors and
promptly at 10 o'clock the Mayor called
for BEGINNING of the presentment of the
case.
A. Walrath of the Santa Cruz Rock
Paving Company, in whose favor the ordi-
nance would largely operate, took the floor
at once. He said he had been arraigned
by the press as belonging to the Southern
Pacific Railroad and desired to deny this.
He owned his mine of bituminous rock; he
owned the Southern Pacific as others own
it, in the way of paying it freight charges.
The question was simply that OF secur-
ing the best pavements for San Francisco,
and the barring out of rock cooked at
Santa Barbara was move in that direc-
ton. Bituminous rock could not be heated
and chilled and heated again and remain
sound rock. 1t must be cooked and laid
while hot to get the best results. The
Santa Barbara rock was not only disinteg-
rated by heat at the mines but was heated
again at central point in the city and
was carted through the streets and was
chilled before being laid. The poor paw
ing so much complained of, he said, illus
Thomas +. Hagerty who announced him.
self as a taxpayer and deeply interested in
the matter only as such, but entirely ia
miliar with the subject, said:
''Should this ordinance become law 1T
would be one of the most unjust and illegal
acts of special legislation ever enacted in
any American city, and it has for its object
the handing over of the streets of this city
to an INSCRIPTIONS monopoly that has
grown out of special privileges granted by
former Boards of Supervisors, who have
combined their forces in this instance with
the octopus to not only monopolize the pro-
ducts of the bituminous rock mines of this
State, but to control the transportation of
the rock by rail to where it is to be used.
1.-THE bituminous rock mines in this State
are so numerous and the quantity SO enor-
nous that no private company could well
control them, yet if they belonged to the
State and were opened up and given free to
any one desiring to use them the passage
of this ordinance would still prohibit their
use on the streets.
IA. Walrath obtained patent from the
United States Government for a paving,
roofing and building compound on June
1, 1886, and this patent with this innocent
title is the basis upon which the monop-
oily was brought into existence, and it is
the basis upon which this ordinance is
framed and intended to in part embrace;
the part that it does not embrace is de-
signed to be embraced by the octopus.
ain the specifications of this patent it is
modestly stated that the base of my COM
pound is new natural product which has
recently been discovered in Santa Cruz in
California, and the claim set forth in said
patent is for "a paving composition con-
sisting of bituminous sand rock softened
by steam.
'.Such a claim as this is so ridiculous
that any one versed in patent law would
be surprised that any court of law would
sustain its novelty. This inventor pro-
duces no composition whatever. The nat
ural elements have done that part. Nor
has he devised any new process of soften
ing the same, yet, through threats of law
suits and other means of intimidation,
they have succeeded in lettering others
from using this natural product Finding
that the United States patent could not
be well sustained, if any legitimate
contest were made on the merits of
the case, they have sought the aid of
the Board of Supervisors to help perpet-
uate this monopoly, and this ordinance
was drawn up to prohibit the use of any
means of softening the bituminous sand
stone other than by steam, or spreading
the softened material on the streets. 1t is
evident that no member of the Board of
Supervisors drew up this order, as it is
clearly the work of several competent ex-
perts in California legislative engineering
No competent honest civil engineer would
permit his name to be associated with such
a measure that specified such process of
poulticlng the streets"
Mr.. Jordan of the Jordan Bituminous
Rock Company, the mines of which are in
Santa Barbara, answered the argument of
Mr. Walrath He said that a Southern
Pacific agent had been to see him with
regard to bringing his rock to the city over
their road. He replied that if they could
land it here as cheaply as he himself could
bring it they could strike a bargain but
not until then. The rate offered was So
rock by water itself at less than 81 so. He
denied that the heating of the bitumen at
the mine harmed it or that hauling it as
thew do in tight iron carts chilled it.
Charles M. Shortridge addressed the
Mayor next as a citizen, interested only as
a citizen with the best interests of the city
at heart.
flected upon the motives of the gentlemen
who passed the ordinance. l come not
here for the purpose of adding any new in
dictments nor particularly in urging those
that have been made,' said Mr.. Short
ridge. 81 come rather, if your Honor
please, to give my judgment on the facts
as stated which are involved in this ordi-
nance. i lay III uONu dS q IdCb WHICH can
not be disputed that the melting or the
partial heating of the rock at the mine in
San Luis Obispo or in Humboldt County
does not in any manner destroy the rock.
The geography of the affair has nothing to
do with it, whether it comes from little
further south or north. 1t is the rock we
want that is to be melted and put on the
surface of the street, not as an ornament,
but to actually stand the test which is put
on a street How do you meet that?
Simply enough. Make an ordinance bind
ing the parties.
"Suppose your Honor should desire to
purchase some marble to finish this unfin-
fshed ruin. Suppose it should be Penn
sylvania marble. Surprising you desired
to bring it up to the City Hall, stop all the
traffic on the street and have the men come
there and work and prepare that marble.
Would it be pertinent to the matter in
hand whether that marble was cut and
polished in Pennsylvania or in Vermont
and put into place?
eff the Mayor will lay that ordinance
aside, l would suggest that he replace it
with one that has some breadth to it. The
result of this will be that the citizens of
San Francisco will provide the Mayor with
sufficient funds to build not only few
blocks in this city but at least $50 miles of
streets. There should be $50 miles of
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