The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-09-18
Astounding Increase of Expenses
in the Department of
Education.
THE TEACHERS AND JANIToRs.
Golden Gate Park, Board of Health
and the Harbor Commission
Reviewed.

The Grand Jury, which was impaneled
by Judge Sanderson December 80. 1895,
submitted its final report yesterday to
Charles f. Slack, Presiding Judge of the
Superior Court, and the members were
discharged from further service.
During the forenoon yesterday commit
tee meetings were held to close up the
business of the term. At / 80 o'clock P. NJ
the jury met as a body and found an in
dictment for felony-obtaining money
under false pretences-against Leo de
Cordona. The case against Cordona is not
exactly new one. On April 10, 1895, he
was a bookkeeper in the Office of the Su-
perintendent of Streets and raised the
treasury demand of Oscar McElroy from
81 80 to $57 so. Other demands were also
raised. The fraud was discovered before
the City was a loser. Cordona was ar
rested, but escaped conviction on techni-
caIIty. 1t seems thatfhe Treasurer's name,
Widber, was spelled Wilbur and so Cordona
was not convicted. He has been in Jail
since and will now be tried on the Grand
Jury Indictment. j. b. Garland, book
keeper of the Street Department, was the
only witness required, although Auditor
Broderick, Deputy Treasurer Louis Jacobs
and Detective Cody were present in
obedience to subpenas.
w men FOREMAN maSk6y presented
the final report OF the jury to Judge Slack
and asked TO be discharged the court said :
II thank you for your efficient and faithful
service. L am sure that you have been loyal
to your duty and your work has not been
in vain. The GRAND Jury is now dis
charged"
The following mem bers of the jury we're
present in the courtroom: Frank Maskey,
Frank P. McLennan, Alpheus Bull Jr., 2.
+. Butler, E. E. Chever, John F. Cline,
Louis Feldmann, H. H. Hencke, John
Landers, c. S. Laumeister, Edward NAL
ley Jacob Martenstein, Z. Meg. Mclean,
G. O'Connor, 7. f. Payne.
The report is an able and elaborate docu-
ment of 5000 words. Speaking OF the
Assessors office it says:
The action of the Assessor of this City and
County is ieIt in every household and business
place. In slightly modified form he virtu-
ally dictates the value OF al personal and real
property Tor taxation or revenue purposes.
The business intrusted to him is varied and OF
vast proportions, and necessarily there must
be much of the detail work of the office in.
trusted to subordinates. That there should be
some irregularities in assessing is to be ex-
pected, but the amount of same should be re-
duced to minimum if an undertaking, clear
and just code OF rules prevails. All owners of
property should be treated alike whether rich
or poor. There should be no distinction be-
tween persons or classes OF citizens or corpora
lions.
The attention of the Grand Jury was called
to some alleged gross Irregularities OF assess
ments in the property OF certain large cor
porations doing business in this City. Asses
sor Slebe appeared before the Grand Jury to
explain The condition of said assessments. He
gave written memoranda as TO the amounts
that were assessed, but no Ineligible expla-
nation definite plan of the methods of
making such assessments. The Grand jury
had made examination as to the cash value Of
the stock and bonds of said corporations at
the time OF assessment, and taking 80 per cent
OF said values informed Assessor Siebe that
such was proper valuation TO be assessed. In
stead of accepting the same, Assessor Siebe sub
SeQuently reduced the assessments of some of
the corporations below the memoranda he had
furnished, stating that he did not assess.bonds
as they were not taxable AS Stocks bonds
and all property must be considered as evil
dence in arriving a. the real value in assessing
corporations, this seems subterfuge In the
cases of the Central Gas Company, which had
leased It's plant for term of years to the
Pacific Gas Improvement Company the said
plant was not assessed 10 either OF the COM
pan1esI and the only assessment of the Central
Gas Company was upon real estate ed at
$41s47O. Assessor Siebe enormously claimed
the company was defunct or dead which is
not q fact, as its 10000 shares of stock on the
day OF assessment were selling al $95 share,
total value OF 81 900, 900. The Grand Jurv's
valuation OF SO per cent was $3.50, 900, SO over
S9OO,OO0 escaped assessment in this one COM
pany The late decision of the Superior Court
that the Assessor was semi-judicial officer for
bids any hope that an action for removal from
office would be successful if undertaken.
To the School Department this refer
ence is made:
We have made an examination of the items
OF expense for which increased appropria-
ton Is asked and find the one item OF teachers
salaries is 1898 900, TO which jenitors' office
and shop salaries added makes gross total of
1862, 800 for salaries alone.
In 1SS3-o4 there were 81 ,57S pupils average
attendance, with TIA teachers, with salaries
1857 1924; while in 1896, with 32,436 aver
age attendance, there we're 92S teachers with
salaries OF YoIZ,S1L Thus an increase of S58
pupils has been attended by an increase of IL
teachers and an increased expense of 1914 487
for teachers salaries. Briefly summed IN
there mas been an increase Of about 2zI ner
cent of puufls attended nv q ?, 5ncres 90 n
33 per cent OF teachers and an increase of 80
per cent in teachers salaries. In the list OF
teachers salaries of 1896 We find special
teachers receive salaries of from $3.50 70 $50
per month, cooking teachers 500 70 $50 per
month, and sewing teachers $75 to $50 per
month.
The demand of the Board of Education for
appropriation tor the coming year for new
school buildings we hold 20 be excessive and
not warranted either by actual requirements
OF pupils or demanded in the interest of tax
PAYERS. There Is no urgent necessity for a
high school building in the Mission district as
the Horace Mann School Is arranged 10 accom-
modate junior class that so far has not vet
been filled. The 100000 asked for a Mission
high school is therefore not needed. The same
condition as to necessity applies TO other
school buildings proposed TO be erected. New
school buildings will, however, in a few years
be required to take the place OF some
now in use, and we think they should
be provided for, not IN appropriations from
taxes OF specific years, but, by bonds.
Market street lot for long term of years.
Inc schools now on this property, /. e. The
Lincoln Grammar and the Webster Primary
should be provided for by new BUILDINGS on
one OF the streets further south. The Market
street frontage OF the school lot is now covered
with wooden buildings, which pay rental of
about $37 900 per year. The entire lot-IoO-
vara square--if rente for long term of years,
woul give income enough TO annually erect
three II not four buildings, which would be all
the increase that the School Department would
require Tor many years TO come 1t will re-
qulre an act of the Legislature TO authorize
the rental OF the property for more than ten
years, also time 10 receive proposals for .leas-
ing. In about two years the longest lease of
the Market-street frontage will expire, and
during the interim the lot could be leased and
the new buildings for the present school be
provided for elsewhere.
COUNTY CLERK
The expenses OF the County Clerks Office
during the term of the incumbent have been in
excess OF the Expenditures of his predecessor in
once. This increased expenditure so far as we
can ascertain has no. been caused by increased
business, but by the arbitrary excess of en-
pioyes appointed by the present County Clerk.