The San Francisco call., 1896-07-29

The solid seven of the Board of Super
visors, wherever they may have been at
the time, must have spent an exceedingly
uncomfortable two hours and half last
night beginning at o'clock.
Metropolitan Temple, thronged with
people, was kept echoing all that time
with bitter denunciation of their betrayal
of the public trust, and the more bitter
and direct and scathing the arraignment
the louder and longer the applause that
greeted it.
1t was a notable occasion-with few
parallels in the history of the City, 1t was
demonstration OF how entirely the people
of San Francisco are aroused to the attl-
tude OF the mem bers of the majority of the
Supervisors toward the peoples interests.
Did speaker hesitate to use the most
= direct terms in speaking OF the accused
men the impatience of the audience be-
came at once manifest by interjection of
language that could not be misunderstood.
Not voice was raised or q word spoke n
In behalf of the plunderers of the people.
Immense bonires burned all the even
ing on Sixth street, at Market and at
Mission streets, ana the throng of people
who filed up the stairs of the Temple was
such as to occupy every niche in the big
hall and to overflow back again for very
lack of room. 1t was big, notable
remonstrance that was full of deep mean
ing.
On the stage were seated great number
of The Leading men of the City-solid busi-
ness and professional men, who have her
best interests at heart.
The presiding officer was 1. ]. Truman.
1t was expected that Mayor Sutro would
. hold this place, but IN letter of strong
sympathy with the spirit of the meeting,
he pointed out that his official position as
president OF the board would make it un-
becoming in him.
Mr.. Truman in opening the proceedings,
said:
Ladies and Gentlemen and Fellow
citizens: You are called together at the
request of numerous taxpayers of this
great City by the Civic Federation, an
organization incorporated to promote and
. recommend what is good and to denounce
what is bad and infamous. The majority
OF the present Board of Supervisors will be
presented to You tonight as having delib-
erately, and we believe corruptly, be-
trayed the interests of the taxpayers to
corporations. The names of the seven
should be forever on your blacklist if
they bob up for your votes in future.
Joe King seems to be the most respecta-
bic of the whole crowd. His chief recon-
mendation is that he is the patronlzer of
rat hunts, which could not begin till Joe's s
dog arrived with joe bringing up the
rear OF the procession. ] presume Peter
A. Scully, Charles Z. Benjamin, Edward
c. Hughes, little Chris bunker, A. W.
Morgenstern and E. L. Wagner came after
Joe and the dog. The City and taxpayers
are safe while Joe is rat hunting.
"Why do you elect such men? Perhaps
for the same reason as Tom Fowler, Sena-
tor from Tulare, told committee in Sac
ramento few years ago. The Supervisors
of that county had bridge built by con-
tract. The floods came and swept it away.
and Tom was trying to get an appropria-
tion from the State. and some Senator
asked him why the Supervisors did not
bind the contractor to guarantee the
bridge to stand ordinary freshets. Toms
reply was: Well, in Chulare when a man
is fit for nothing else they make Chuper-
visor of him.
am one not of those who believe all
corporations are corrupt They are human,
anu ~ ASA Ou C4cCt JOeS IOr Ou-
pervisors, corporations soon find that the
only way TO protect themselves is to reach
their consciences through their ever-ex-
tended and itching palm, and like Jim
Fisk said in regard to his fathers truth
fulness, Father won't tell lie for 1C
cents, but he will tell a dozen for adollar,
and some of this crowd is said to have
taken squealing pig for business favor.
"These Supervisors are accused of reduc-
ing prominent corporation assessments.
which were assessed by Siebe at one fourth
their cash value. and these seven reduced
them over 81, ,000,O 900. If you own house
and lot which you could sell IN the market
for $4,000, would it be assessed for $500 and
reduced by the Supervisors to $500? No;
it would be assessed at $500, and you
could not get nickel off, and Joe would
not look you.
THE Grand Jury has indicted King
and his chums, and if District Attorney
W. S. Barnes prosecutes them, as ! think
he will, the citizens of San Francisco will
not be troubled with the echo of King ask