The San Francisco call., 1896-03-19
MAY REMAIN IN CHARGE.
Superintendent Weaver's Fate to
Be Decided on Wednes.
day.
DR.. Williamson Will Remain Loyal to
the Incumbent to the
Very Last.

Whether or not Superintendent Weaver
of the Almshouse will be removed by the
Board of Health will be decided on
Wednesday next, when a special meeting
will be held to consider the matter.
The members of the board stand just as
they have since the investigation Of the
City Poorhouse began, Mayor Sutro and
DIR. Williamson standing by Superintend-
ent Weaver, and Drs. Morse, Hart ard
Fitzgibbon being against him.
The vote will stand thus when the
matter comes up and it will then rest with
the Governor whether or not Mr.. Weaver
is to lose his position. If he decides to re-
move DR.. Williamson and appoint some
one in his place who will do the executive
bidding. the way will be easy, otherwise
superintendent Weaver will remain. The
following letter relating to the subject was
received by the board yesterday and placed
on file:
MANIToU. Colo, March 8, 1896.
Honorable Board of Health, City and County of
this section advise me that Mr.. and Mrs. P. L.
Weaver of the San Francisco Almshouse are
undergoing investigation at your hands, and
as / became interested in the institution
while was professor of economics at the STAN
ford University l venture to send you some
account OF my impressions concerning it.
TOI SIX years DeIOTe going TO Call1OrDla naQ
been professionally interested as superinten-
dent OF charities for the District of Columbia,
and otherwise, in public benevolences OF ali
sorts, and had visited many OF the large aims
houses in different parts of the United States.
therefore went early to the almshouse in San
Francisco, although l previously knew moth
ing of its management.
was delighted to find it one OF the best in
stitutionS of the kind had ever seen, at least
in proportion to outlay. l went repeatedly
alone and with others, and fuller acu uai ntance
only confirmed by first impression. An aims
house is usually one of the dreariest institu-
tions that man can visit, and is always so
unless considerable measure of self-sacrifce
has been contributed to its management by
some one. In the institution controlled by
your honorable body feel sure that the high
est standard of comfort and of decency in pro-
portion to cost was due to the peculiar fitness
OF MIR. and Mrs. Weaver for their work and
their intelligent devotion TO it.
In the discharge of my official duties have
had imposed upon me al all times the work of
investigating large institution, and l appre-
ciate the difficulties under which you must
labor in this work. The conflict of selfish
interests is so sharp and the number of un-
truthful and complaining inmates is so large
that 1t is very difficult for outside an insti-
tuition TO get truthful view of it's operations
especially from former evidence. NV own i'm
presS1ons in this matter were so clear that
have ventured TO intrude them upon you. |
hope that you will do nothing that NAV de-
prive San Francisco of the reputation which it
now has among experts in such matters of
providing both cheaply and well for its old
and decrepid poor. Very respectfully yours,
A. G. WARNER.