The San Francisco call., 1896-02-02
FIGHTING FOR The CANAL
DR.. Mclean Of Alameda Goes to
Washington at His Own
Expense.
THE OPPOSITION AT OAKLAND,
Business Men Who Say They Want to
Have Some Other Dredging
Done First.
OAKLAND OFFICE SAN FRANCISCO CALL,
Q0& RrnadWav EAh 1896

SUo broadway, rep. L, 1880
Dr.J. T. Mclean, who has long been iden-
titled with the work of the State Board of
Health, has gone to Washington IS dele
gate of the Harbor Improvement Associa-
tion to urge the necessity of finishing the
work on the tidal canal. Before starting
he met with the opposition of some of the
interested business men.
The trouble all arose out of DR.. McLean's S
memorial to Congress, which has the sig
natures OF great many men of Oakland
and Alameda, though some of the signers
now declare that they are opposed to it and
did not understand its purport when it
was presented for signature. There were
present DR.. Mclean, President Manuel of
the City Council, President NJ. J. Keller of
the Board of Trade, Edison Adams and J.
2. Taylor. They had arranged to meet
DR.. Mclean and discuss his memorial
with him, as they were doubtful as to its
meaning.
Exception was at once taken by Mr..
Manuel to the plan outlined by DR.. Nc
Lean which ignores the lower part of Oak
land Harbor proper and provides for big
appropriation for the Alameda and
Brooklyn districts.
The first objection was raised to the
name of DR.. McLean's document. He has
captioned it "a plea of one hundred thou
sand people, based on important sanitary
completion of Oakland Harbor.'
Edison Adams denied that 100, 900 people
were in need OF this appropriation as a
sanitary measure and objected to the re-
fiection cast on Oakland. If Alameda
needed 1t that city only represented $4,000
people.
DR.. Mclean was greatly surprised to
find that Mr. Manuel had signed the me-
mortal without knowing what it meant.
Mr.. Manuel said he was opposed to it and
had signed it because he had understood
that it was for the general improvement
of the harbor. He urged the doctor to
leave his memorial with them and to
make no further use of it. This DR.. Nc
Lean declined to do, but said that he
would not present it unless assured that it
was the sense OF the community.
DIR. Mclean had drawn up his memorial
to Congress, and had taken 1t for granted
that 1000 people would call him blessed
for it, and, at the last moment these men
repudiated it, and limited that the doctor
was working more in the interest of the
town of which he was an official than of
Oakland. Then to crown all, he was asked
to leave his memorial at home so as not
to make it necessary for another memorial
to be sent contradicting his document.
Then another matter was brought up.
DIR. Mclean asked what could be done
toward his getting that $3.50 that the Coun-
Gil offered to appropriate, but which the
Auditor refused to pay. Very little en-
couragement was received, and all the
doctor could hear was advice about leav-
ing his mem oriaI behind.
DR.. Mclean went to Washington la st
night and his memorial went with him
and now the Oakland men who are op,
posing him are going to reach Congress
man Hllborn with the view OF seeing tha4
DR.. Mclean does not inadvertently tarnish
the rating he gave himself before the par
ticipants at yesterdays gathering.
DIR. Mclean heads the movement to
have the tidal canal dredged out as a sani-
tary improvement, and the value of the
canal for that purpose has not been pub
licly questioned.
The railroad company has always op-
posed the canal completion, according to
the general understanding of the matter,
and 1t IS expected that its representatives.
at Washington and Oakland will follow
out the present fight to it on the lines of
the opportunity afforded by the Oakland
men who are eager to have the lower part
OF the harDor thoroughly dredged out be
fore completing the canal :
Ihe men who DO the dredging at Oak
land harbor say that the lower channel
"AA ASfSA oS ncpb iIOul up uLIil the
canal is constructed, and that the dredging
an the lower harbor will all have to be done
over and over again.
DR.. Mclean has gone to Washington,
and will conduct his fight at his own ex-
pense.
1t is anticipated that movement in
support of DR.. McLean's measure will be
lnaugurated Immediately. The people of
Oakland are in favor of the completion of
the canal and the general completion of
the Oakland harber improvement plans;
DuI some OF the business men, like Edison
Adams and Mr.. Taylor, have property or
business interests which make it desirable
Tor them to have the lower portion of the
naroor dredged before any other work is
done, and the railroad interest is to DELAY
the car ai-dredging as long as possible and
nave the improvements made where thew
VIII be most useful to the company.
n a