The San Francisco call., 1897-08-20
BUILDING THE
NEW CHARTER
The Convention Of One
Hundred Members Met
Last Night.
A Committee of Five Will
Strenuously Endeavor to
Expedite Matters.
Progress Was So Slow It Called Forth
Many Protestations From
Angry Lips.


in Native Sons Hall as to call from the
| lips of one of its most aged and logical
members the expression 'the crack OF
doom will sound If things continue thus
before San Francisco will be governed by
the charter we are trying SO hard to
! Frame"
This expression of sentiment was favor
| ably received, and few minutes later a
com mittee was appointed by Mayor Phe-
Ian, chairman of the convention, to draw
up or invent, If necessary, some mode OF
| procedure TO govern the meetings which
will expedite the building OF the charter.
The mem bers OF the convention appointed
to this la Dor are: j. J. Dwyer. +. K. Lane,
Samuel Braunhart, Judge A. w. Thom p
son and Herbert E. Law.
The convention opened shortly after s
o'clock with nearly all the 100 member
present. A. Gerberding of the harbors
and wharves committee notified the con-
vention that his arduous duties made it
impossible for him to give proper atten-
tion to the work of framing charter and
asked to be relieved. His resignation was
acce pied and Lipman Sachs was appointed
to fill the vacancy. DR.. J. A. Anderson of
the health department commit ee also
handed in his resignation and Franklin
K. Lane was appointed in his place.
L. r. Ellert OF the legislative committee
handed in his report, but it was not read.
Mr.. Ellert, however, says that the only
issue of importance in the document Is
tn at it favors the granting Of veto power
to the Mayor the same that enjoyed by
the Governor. The Mayor now has a
power to veto, but when an ordinance is
placed before him be must either pass it
-
has the power to pass any portion of a
legislative act be desires and veto any
clause he sees tit. This is the power the
legislative committee would be gratltled
to see the Mayor enjoy.
John P. Dunn, chairman of the finance
and taxation committee. filed a partial re-
port. 1t Will be printed, read and passed
upon at the next meeting. Joseph Brit
ton of the executive committee, Nj. Z.
Hasse;t of the judicial Department.; James
Denman, representing the School Depart
ment; DR.. Nightingale, chairman OF the
health comm ttee; 1sidor Gntte of the
FL Department com mittee; Vanderlynn
Stow, presenting public parks; Irving
M. Scott, on the public i'm provements
| committee, and George l.. Center OF the
| street railroad committee reported prog
ress in their labors, but begged for more
| time.
A. A Watkins of the Police Department
committee aud Hugh Craig of the harbors
| and whalves committee filed their re-
| ports. They will be printed and ready at
| the next meeting. The report OF Gavin
! McNab, chairman of the law committee
was submitted, and, as it contained
l. legal issues of important bearing on the
! framing of the charter. it was read. IL is
the opinion of the law committee that in
the event the charter is framed, passed by
the people and ratified by the Legislature
it may 60 into effect before January /,
1891. The committee suggests, however
that it would be unwise to attem pit to put
it in force before 1899.
According TO the report all departments
OF the City government may be required
to act under the provisions Of the charter
Immediately upon it's going into effect.
The salaries OF all officials may be fixed in
the charter, or If 1t be desired the sala-
ries OF portion of the municipal officials
may be fixed and the freeholders or Sup.
ervlsors may establish the rest. 1t can
require all officers now receiving fees or a
salary and fees to surrender those contin-
gent emolumenis and accept a salary to
be governed by the charter, and also that
a committee of public works can be pro-
vided for which will imm ediately retire
the Superintendent OF streets and the
Police and Fire Department com missions.
A commun cation rom local union No.
6, Bro herhood of Electrical Workers. was
received and read. The union favors
clause in the charter for the appointment
OF an electrical ins pector and deputy. The
union complains that many deaths and
disastrous fires have occurred through i'm
perfect wiring and they would like TO see
the evil stopped. The communication was
referred to the public works and improve
ment com mittee.
Joseph ASbury Johnson, q member of
the convention, then placed communi-
cation before the convention on a Euro
pean city government. 1t is as follows:
Gentlemen of the Charter Contention: The
reference made by our Mayor at the last
meeting to the work of Al bert Shaw. LII. D., on
Municipal Government" as probably the
highest authority on that subject, has led me
to make a careful examination OF the treat
ment he has given the matter then under
consid deration-the proposition to make "the
governing body OF this City large Board of
Supervisors" instead OF clothing the Mayor
with extraordinary powers as was proiessed in
the draft of charter recently submitted TO a
vote of our citizens; and as this central ques-
ton is one of vital interest to this conven-
tion and the whole community it has seemed
to me worth while at this stage of our pro-
ceedings to present brief review OF DR..
Shaw's position set forth in three or four
pages OF his first volume, though he makes
frequent reference to the matter in both vol
umes.
Turning to page 81 of volume l, Municipal
Government in Great Britain, under the title
''Ihe BRUSH system III OpeThllOD, Hnu Tn
he regards the English Mayor as an entirely
different official from the American Mayor and
says that except as to what We may call the
dignity business" the two officials are not
even analogous. "The typical American
Mayor" he says, lis part of the Council or
Its organization. He is elected directly by
the people. He is an independent coordinate
authority" The English Mayor. on the con-
trary. is led by the Council and is part
OF it.
On page 50 he discusses the divided respon-
sibility of The Mayor and Council in the exer-
else of power under the American system
and concludes by SAYING "The embarrass
ments and Spr trtunities growing out OF this
divided res iopsibility are among the princi-
pa, causes OF the comparative failure of city
government in the United States" He then
adus: MANY earnest and Intelligent IN uni
cipal reformers, especially in New York and
the Eastern States, have advocated the plan OF
greatly increasing The authority of the Mayor
so that he may be held more definitely re-
sponsible for the ADMINISTRATION of the va
rious executive departments. 1t is the plan OF
periodically elective dictatorship.
As remedy for the evils that grow out of
interference by the State, and the farming out
of departments-such as water supply-to
special boards or omissions not res pom 81 bic
to the Mayor or the Council or the people,
and, further, as d temporary measure OF de-
tense against untrustworthy officials, this
somewhat heroic plan of making the Mayor q
dictator seems TO have great deal in its
| favor. But ii is un-rerubiican, and it does
not at all solve the difficult problem of har-