The San Francisco call., 1897-09-07
need STREETS and SEWERS FIRST
Supervisors Should Stand by
Their Ante-Election
Pledges,
SOME FIGURES IN THE CASE.
A High Price That Seems to Have
an Ulterior Object in
View.
SOME FIGURES IN THE CASE.

While those who are engineering the
Mission Park and Zoo deal have the salts
faction of knowing that residents OF
Berkeley, Alameda and other suburbs are
strongly in favor of taxing San Francisco
citizens for the purpose of building ZOO
logical garden and incidentally paying an
exorbitant price for the property, the peo-
pie living in the Mission and who pay
taxes on property there are strong in their
denunciation of the scheme.
The whole plan has been to give the
idea that the taxpayers of the Mission are
crying for an animal show, yet the people
there are doing all in their power to pre-
vent the consum nation of the deal
whereby it is expected to unload lot OF
property on the City at many times its
value. Following are more expressions
OF the Taxpayers in the Mission:
John Center, one of the ear
Iiest settlers in the Mission,
having located i'm that section
forty acres of land all around
w heTe uc ACSIuCS aAAC
present time. He is now one
of the heaviest taxpayers of
real estate in the NlissiOn: II
look upon this thing OF locating park
and so-called zoo out on the Gum Tree
| Tract as one of the modern schemes OF
! plundering the people. And am forced
| to this conclusion from my experience in
| the late deal Just had in The buying of The
school lot for the Mission High School,
As an example of how property is bought
| for the City | will cite my experience.
When they came around here to get my
! views on the subject offered them piece
OF property at $2s 600 The answer was:
TOO LITTLE; make it s3S 900. You know,
we want ufficient 10 meet thu expense OF
the brokers' Now, suppose the amount
asked Tor the Gum Tree land has been set
much upon this principle. So much for
! the land and the rest-the greater sum-for
| the brokers' But this does not matter
much if the taxpayers are made to stand
| the deal.
"If thought that for a moment park
would be of any benefit to the Mission |
would be one of the first TO advocate its
| location in the Mission, because anything
| that would benefit the Mission would GER
! tainly benefit Inc, as all my interests are
located in this place. And as it is with
me so it is with all others owning prop
| erty in this section. Hence we would one
| and ali be the first to ad vocate the propo-
| 81 ion. But there is no such scheme on
foot. 1t is a scheme to dispose of piece
of almost worthless land to the City at
| more th an three times its value. The land
| offered never was worth $500 an acre. 1t
would make any man poor to own it. 1t
| is q barren unprod uctive piece wholly un-
| fit for park. 1t faces the west and is at
all times exposed to the chilling effect
! produced from the winds that blow
| from that quarter. And. besides this,
! it would require hall million OF dollars
| to put it into anything like condition to
| even give it the appearance OF a park.
| ''As for the zoo, why, it is SO absurd on
| its face that a person would be disposed
to look upon it as huge joke. We all
| recoilect the animal collection that had
| been at Woodward's Gardens. As long
as Woodward lived the gardens and the
an mals were taken pretty good care OF.
! But as soon as he died the gardens and
| the animals we're neglected, and the Mis-
| sion residents petitioned time and ag ain
| to have the nuisance abated. Then, when
| it was deemed to be filthy nuisance. 10
one could be found TO take the collection
| Tor love or money. In the end the ami
| mails had TO be shot.
| Look at our streets and sewers. Why,
We should be ashamed of them; and add
| to this condition the schools and public
| buildings-all are in dep,orable state.
| Thousands Of our little children are walk
| ing about the streets for want of school
| accom- m odation. We have three County
| jaiis, all looked after by set of politi-
clans, when one good and substantial
building should answer for that purpose.
| Again, our Fire Department is struggling
along under great difficulties because Of
the want of sufficient funds to properly
! equip It, and as result insurance rates
are high. Yet in the face of all this we
are asked to buy piece of land for park
and zoo, for the keeping OF lot OF wild
animals Why, it is enough to make a
| man wonder If the promoters of this bub-
| BILE are really sane or if they consider us
pack of demented fools. We have an ex-
| cellent park as it is, and TO keep it in good
| condition is sufficient of tax on the peo-
| pie. II might as we'll be understood ow
IS at any other time that the Mission resi-
dents and taxpayers are to man deeid-
| edly opposed 10 The Gum Tree bubb and
the few men who are behind it.
Il am. however, pleased TO find that we
have one paper in the City, The CALL,
| tn 1t is willing to throw aside all selfish
ness and come out in the interest of the
| people. consioer it nothing short of
robbery TO ask the taxpayers 10 pay S3S7,-
| 500 for the proposed land. It is asses sed
for something Ike $4,000. and am Tree
to state all the Mission real estate Is now
! assessed at 10 per cent over its real value.
And in the face of this the scnemers who
| have the brazen audacity to foist this
tract of land upon ths people are asking
| more than three times its value. And
this in the lace of hard times, when we
have thousands of willing boys and men
walking about the streets looking for
| work, with no manufacturing indu
tries open for them, and this in
measure because men of capital
| are afraid to invest in manu-
featuring pursuits because of the
high rate Of taxation and the uncertainty
| that their investments will not be over
taxed. As consequence, the generous
| Ia h ad IN frSh Of ! oirx i. -