The San Francisco call., 1897-11-29
ALAMEDA COUNTY NEWS.
| regarding the water

the present Council regarding the water
front mat r is one of great speculation.
In the first place, 1t is certainly not for
tunate that the president of the Council
should be the son of one of the intere te
attorneys, and again. majority of the re-
naming ten members were elected on an
anti Non Partisan platform, if such
term be admissible. AS Mayor Pardee,
when these contracts were drawn, was
prominent in the Non-Partison move
ment, it car readily be conceived that this
| Council, or ma jOrity OF its mem bers, is
not particularly favorable to its prede-
cessor's administration.
Every one is willing to acknowledge
that the attorneys have done their WORK
faithfully. No responsible party has
hitherto openly said a word to the con
trary. The contracts as drawn up contain
this para~e: NO compromise OF this Iitl-
cation affecting the waterfront title IS
ever TO be advised by US, our judgment
being hat final judicial determination
alone can ever settle the controversy
There is another paragraph which shows
| the weakness of the whole proceeding
when viewed from a purely buslness-lke
stand point. 1t is this: "Ali services to
| be dihgent and to our best ability, and ap-
peals TO be taken and perfected as may be
necessary and when directed by the proper
authorities" The proper authorities
to ORDER the case TO the court OF hnal re-
| sort-the United States Supreme Court
are, of course the Mayor and the City
Council. As the contracts call for every
possible service in the courts OF the State
and provide that the Council shall have
! the power TO authorize, for further Zee
| OF S4000 the taking OF the case to the
| United States Supreme Court, 1t is easily
| seen that the matter rests entirely as re-
| CARDS ultimate action with the City Coun-
| Gil, and hence the great Importance attach
/ Ing 20 the conference this week Tor the
! purpose of considering the proposition TO
| end all litigation as 1t stands at this time.
! The trouble is that the parties with whom
| The attorneys drew up the contracts dill
! fered in many respects from those now IN
| office.
! The question is also being asked. "Why
should the corporation be anxious at this
time to end the litigation? ?" and the an
swer is being freely made that in their
! efforts to do this they must have detected
a weak spot somew where. Ii its legal ad-
visers are as confident as they say they
are, why this haste to end the matterT
| They have waited over a quarter OF a
century, and if the proceedings to be had
| in the Alameda courts are merely IN the
nature OF strengthening out the Judgment,
! the company can surely wait n few
| months, and it should not be difficult to
| persuade prospective purchasers that the
! title can be perfected IN that time. lhe
! fact cannot be forgotten that in 1oo2 the
| Council agreed to close up the litigation
| then pending on the promise OF the rail-
road company that immediate steps
would be taken to build wharves and start
factories and develop the water front.
| Every body knows how these promises
were not carried out. Some portions OF it
were leased, but with so many restrIc-
lions, arbitrary in their nature, as to be
! yalueless to their holders. Mr. Sessions
said Yesterday that if the present propo-
! sition to cease litigation were accepted
| the railroad company would uncondE
! tionafly sell the property for any reason
! a BILE offer they might receive. Oakland
! wants 10 know what guarantee I" ere is
| that promises OF 1897 are worth any more
! than those OF 1882.
The views of MIR. Sessions, in his
| Published statements. would possess
much weight if they were the views
! Of private citizen, but coming from the
acknowledged agent of the corporation,
| they are regarded definitely and abso-
| luteIy II the nature of an advertisement
! and a real estate .rcular. II know of no
party" said Mr.. Sessions yesterday,
who will do a thing when they say they
will, quicker or more completely than the
railroad company"
This is what was thought fifteen years
ago, and confidence was placei in the
company, but only to be violated.
THESE are all the facts in the case and
the point 10 be settled is, whether TO
! cease litigation in return for promises
| from the water !ront company and to de-
! clare that the many thousands of dollars
| spent by the city had been wasted or
| whether the City Council should coun-
tenance and authorize the carrying on OF
| the litigation as outlined in existing con-
| tracts.
Oakland needs the advantages that will
! surely follow the development of the
| water front. She needs them more to-day
| than at any time in her history. Every
merchant and nearly every politician ad-
mits this. 1t is not matter of great mo-
ment to the city who builds wharves and
! brings ships and trade here so long as
| whalVes are built and commerce en-
! couraged. II is well known that during
| the past five years many large manufaC-
turing concerns would have located on the
water front had they been able to acquire
an uncIouded title. These are t facts
| referred to by the enterprising m EN- bers of
| the Board of Trade, who declare that they
want 10 see some benefit during their life
! time from the great natural harbor around
| their city.
They also point to the marvellous PROF.
ress made in less than two years on the
Adams estate. They could not point to
| be ter example. On the thousand or m ore
feet OF water front have been built im-
| provements and wharves of such a char
acter that in no similar space in San
Francisco CO can hey be duplicated. They
cause the circulation of thousands of dol
! lars monthly, and at one time five large
| four masted ships were in line waiting
| n,1-I
| on The Pacific coast that admits of ten
miles OF wharf facilities with water on
! one side and rail on the other. II makes
20 difference now whether the Adams