The San Francisco call., 1896-08-01
SEWERS WHICH
ARE CESSPOOLS.
Property Owners Talking
of a Public Up
rising.
CONTAGION SPREADING
Two Deaths Have Already Been
Caused by the Foul
Gases.
CAN GAIN NO RELIEF.
Petitions TO the Superintendent of
Streets Receive No At.
tention.
CAN GAIN NO RELIEF

The biggest kind of row is brewing
among the residents and property-owner!
i'll the vicinity of California street, at the
intersection of Walnut. The indignation
of the people is directed at Superintendent
OF Streets Ashworth for what they claim
to be an almost criminal neglect of theil
interests.
Certainly. an investigation of the cause
of this complaint, as was done yesterday
by THE CALL, makes it appear good and
sufficient for considerable amount o1
kicking. The ways of the Street Depart.
ment for severaf years have been past
finding out.
This cause of the Walnut and California
streets kick is case in point. They have
two sewers out there that have no outlet.
Quite number of communities in the
City are favored with one such sewer
thanks to a reckless. irresponsible policy
in the Street Department-bu no other is
so distinguished as to have two of that
kind.
Walnut street drains south to California
and California drains east to Walnut. A
sewer is laid in California street, west of
Walnut, but it stops at the Walnut-street
line. Continued on one block from th ere
to Central avenue it would make connec-
ton with the general sewer system there.
But it Goes not. It'is left to fill up with
the drainage from the stretch of hill west
ward.
Over a year ago a sewer was laid in Wal
nut street to the line of California. Wal
nut street is thickly settled, costly resi-
dences lining both sides OF it. The drain
age from these houses runs into this sewer
and lies there-no outlet being afforded.
The effect has been such as to empty
many of the houses of the tenants and 10
bring sickness and death to the tenants
who have been unable to get away.
The residents and property-owners have
besieged the Superintendent of Streets,
but they get no satisfaction. The Board
of Health being notified visited the place
and Immediately condemned the work,
butnothing has been DONE
In April last the people in the vicinity
were made to rejoice by the appearance of
a gang OF men who got to work digging
and afterward building an extension to
the sewer. They thought, of course, that
relief had come. Some fortv-six feet were
added to the end of the sewer, carrying it
from the north line to the center of Cali
fornia street. And then, to the amaze
ment of everybody, the workmen stopped,
filled up the hole and went away.
The people were to be taxed for having
their distress aggravated, for the longer
the blind sewer extended the more filth it
would hold and the more contagion it
would spread. Remonstrance was re-
doubled. but it ended with remonstrance.
1t is true man from the Street Depart
ment was ordered one day to go out and
look at the loose sand above the blind end
which it was declared was full of foul
seepage.
He struck his pick into it and the escap-
ing gas blew the seepage into the air.
Some sand bags were piled over the top in
the hopes of suppressing it, the man went
away and that is the last that has been
done in the way of relief.
In the meantime Mr.. and Mrs. Hickby.
living in the house on the corner of Cali
fornia and Walnut streets, have lost two
children by death. A sister-in-law of Mrs.
Hickby is now lying seriously i'll, and the
physician warns her that she cannot get
we'll so long as she stays in the injected
The family of E. Wilkins is also suffer
ing i'll health directly chargeable by the
physicians to the poison in the air.
r. G. Miller, who owns some cottages In
the neighborhood which he is unable to
find tenants for from the same cause, J.
w. Burling and Charles B. HoIbrook. all
interested in property in the nelghbor-
hood, have been saying and doing all thew
can to gain relief.
"One trouble is that the Supervisors &C.
cept such straw bondsmen for contractors
that they can break their contracts with
said r. q. Miller Yesterday.
1.-Two different parties have taken con-
tracts for this work, and both have
failed to do the work. The trouble seems
to be that the block between Walnut
street and Central avenue, that makes the
breach between the sewers, is covered
with the tracks of the Market-street Rail-
way Company. The steam road from the
Cliff House comes in there, and there is
the turntable of the California-street line.
My notion is that there is the real
trouble. Some influence is exerted to call
off the contractors. Some of these davs /
however, you will see the biggest accident
on that line that we have witnessed in San
Francisco for long time. The tracks are
sinking and cannot be maintained over
that wet earth. The rails will spread and
go down under one of those heavy trains
some day fand-well, after that, this out |
rage will be remedied perhaps"
George W. Elder, expert to the Board of
Supervisors, was seen last night about this
matter. He said: 81 have done eyery-
hing possibly can for these people, but
cannot force the Street Department to do
this work. / have reported the matter to
he Superintendent and to the Board of |
Health and to the Supervisors. 1t is a
crying shame, there is no doubt about |
hat. If this work had been done properly
.wo lives might have been saved and much |
oss to the property-owners. The property /
'wners are wiling to pay all proper assess
nents and why it is not done don't un-
lerstand.
''The building OF the sewer in that
hape was great blunder in the first.
,lace. No sewer should ever be begun
hat did not-continue to an outlet. The
dea of building sewer half way down the
ide Of hill and there stopping, within