The San Francisco call., 1896-12-28
WILL RECTIFY
LEAyIT7'S ERROR
Oakland's New Years Gift
Must Be Her Water
Front.
Politics That Caused a War Some
Months Ago Is Now
Quite Correct.
A Duel That Was Fought in the Forest
Nearly Ha.f Century Ago on
the Site of Oakland.
OAKLAND OFFICE sAN FRANc1sco CALL, |


908 broadway, Dec. 81.
Sonnet time while the coming year is yet
new Oakland will either win OF lose her
water front. Tomorrow evening the
mercantile organizations of this city wall
echo the New Years wish of everybody
who has Its welfare at heart when they
declare, as they will do, that Assem- bly,
man Leavitt's bill should be withheld.
During the past week much has been said
about the proposed bill to repeal the act
of 1852 giving the water front to this city
and possibly many unkind suggestions
have been made regarding its authors
motive. Many of these are no doubt un-
true and Mr.. Leavitts open letter should
be given due credit. Having been in the
newspaper business in this city SO long IL
is not likely that Mr.. Leavitt would in
the very dawn of his public career run
any such risk as taking up a bill so mani
testify unfair to Oakland and so much like
something the railroad company must
naturally desire at this critical time in the
history of the water front. On the part of
MIR. Leayitt it is but honest to admit that
he as unfortunately made mistake and
having done so he will no doubt correct 1t.
But nc matter by whom prepared the
pernicious nature of the bill cannot be,
doubted and the merchants and citizens
cannot afford TO leave anything undone
that will strengthen the city's standing in
the great case. The water front is worth
somewhere between ten and twenty mil
lions of dollars, and were the Southern
Pacific even more honest than it is the
temptation to keep the water front would
still be great enough to risk something
toward that end.
If half dozen bright, industrious boys
ire looking for a good investment they
could not do better than open a messen-
ger service in this city. For city OF its
size Oakland is the most wretchedly
equipped as regards messengers in the
country. To make matters worse the
only messenger service there is has made
a contract with the Western Union by
which the latter will not under any con-
sideration permit any of its messengers to
do anything but deliver dispatches.
On Christmas eve in this city of 10000
inhabitants it was mpossible to obtain
messenger to make trip TO San Fran
cisco.
At2P. NJ. Christmas day the following
conversation took place between an Oak
land subscriber and the central office:
please send boy 20 go to the City,"
Can t do it.
''Why not? Must have one."
mo boys. There are over forty calls
here now and we can't get through with
them before o'clock and then dear knows
how many we may have"
While this is perhaps hardly a fair ex-
ample OF the average messe niger service, it
is indicative OF the necessity OF an ade-
ouate supply of BOYS. Being a monopoly
ana having contracted off all opposition,
1t is case of doing without boy or wait
ing till some one condescends to send one.
Under present conditions there is not the
n q ChanOa
The electorate of Oakland is a peculiar
body. Four months ago the Republican
County Central Committee named four
delegates at large to the Congressional
convention at which Mr.. Hilborn was
nominated. Immediately there was a
riot. 1t was charged that the four dele
gates were all Frick men, and that if dele
gates were to be appointed then the
county might as well be governed out
right by the thirteen men who com posed
the County Committee. All the reform
ers were up in arms, ana so strong was
the pressure brought to bear that the
names of the four delegates were with
drawn.
A week ago the Republican City Cen
tral Committee met quietly and named
twenty-one men, who were charged with
the duty of naming 120 delegates to a con-
vention 10 name a complete Republican
municipal ticket. Among the twenty-one
names are those of all the men who were
leaders in the great outburst of disap-
proval over the appointing system few
months ago. They have decided TO act
and will name the whole convention.
Thus. when the County Committee
named four delegates who were not to be
submitted at primary there was war, but
now that the city committee is going to
practically name the. whole ticket all is
harmony.
Truly, this is Oakland.
One of the strongest contrasts that could
possibly be drawn is that between the
Oakland of Christmas day, 1849 and the
city of Christmas day, 1896.
Forty-seven years ago the spot on which
Oakland now stands was almost an un