The San Francisco call., 1896-05-31
Result of a Fight Against the
Establishment. of a Beer
Garden.
FORGOT a MOTHERS WISH.
Rev. Mr.. McCullom of San Lorenzo
Speaks Pointedly of Outraged
Decency.

SAN LORENZO, CAL, May 3O.-The
fight between the mothers, wives and
daughters of this town against the turn
ing of the pretty grove here into resort
for all manner of vicious characters
reached another stage to-day when it. was
announced that Harry Meek had with
drawn his subscription of S5 month to
the Union Church. Although the Golfers
of the church will not suffer greatly from
the loss of Mr.. Meek's $5 the circumstance
itself has great weight, as the people OF
this town resent what is evidently meant
as a punishment for demanding their
rights.
For several months the residents have
opposed the granting of liquor license
to the proprietors of the grove, but a few
weeks ago by means of a petition to which
the names were not legal the license was
granted.
Since then arrests have been made among
the Sunday crowds and the offenders have
been turned loose to avoid the publicity
that would be caused by publication. The
grove is the property of the Haywards
Electric Railroad and Mr.. Meek, who has
Withdrawn his subscription to the church
as the president OF the road.
"This company has broken its faith with
the people of this section" said Rev. G..
T. McCullom of the church to-day.
when they solicited bonuses from the
property-owners for its San Lorenzo ex-
tension the promise was made that a
license would not be asked for the grove.
We were told by Mr.. Meek that the road
would confne itself strictly to Legitimate
business.
Now they have a license for the grove
and every Sunday we are visited by all the
roughs that can be brought from San
Francisco and Oakland. A few days ago a
young lady was in buggy when a crowd
OF noodlums started the horse and lostled
the buggy so that the occupant was forced
to get out. Now Mr.. Meek, the president
of the road, has Withdrawn his subscrip-
tion to the church because l was instru-
mental in leading a fight for peace and
order. However we will live without that
50, which is about as much to the treasury
as his influence was to the church, but it is
the spirit of the thing that rankles. As a
railroad the company is all that could be
desired. There is good service and first
class cars and civil employees, but il is these
petty things that make the road SO un-
popular.
ago, she laid her boys under solemn obli-
cations not to allow the gro-e to become
beer garden. The old lady was the very
soul of charity and goodness, and while
she lived we had no grievance against the
grove. Wewent to II. Meek and reminded
him of this obligation, and he said he was
aware of it. but that the title to the grove
was in the road now and not with the
family. We reminded him that he was
president of the road and with the other
members of the family controlled its
management, but it was OF no use, and we
got no satisfaction.
They tell US now that they have leased
the place to BfeG Borman and that they
have no control of it. but that is not so.
Borman told a member of the church a
few days ago that he was disgusted with
the kind of crowds that were carried out
there Sundays, and that if the railroad
people persisted he would refuse to cater
to them.
"Now, after all this, comes Harry Meek
and discontinues the donation of S5 a
month that we we're receiving from an es-
tate worth over a million dollars. This
display of petty spite and the knowledg ge
that the children do not have as much
reverence for the memory of their noble
mother as many people here have-these
are some of the secrets of the unpopularity
OF great corporation. Every promise
broken, all regard for decency thrown
aside, and beer garden forced upon us on
the strength of a petition fraudulently
signed-these are the iniustices under
which we suffer. In the matter of with
drawing his subscription at this time it is
breach of an implied promise The
promises of subscriptions are renewed each
year for year, and the current period is
not up till October, but do not fear th at
the church will suffer-"