The San Francisco call., 1897-06-07
)NHEELS STOLEN
JUST FOR FUN"
A Fool Practice That Inures
TO the Detriment of
Cyclists.
Oakland Will Probably Succeed
in Having a Custom
House.
A County Official Whose Salary Is
Out Of Al Proportion to the
Duties Rendered.
OAKLAND OFFICE SAN Francisco CALL,

908 BroadN way, June 6.
Just at this particular time when
b cycles seem TO be offering special induce
ments TO thieves, it is certainly childish
for The practical joker 10 imagine he is
having some fun by stealing his friends
wheel and having the supposed loss re-
ported to the police. Yet this is just what
has been Gone several times luung the
J ast month.
1t does not need any great intelligence
TO see the effect of such stupidity. A few
nights ago one OF the officers of the Acme
Club was subjected TO such 'ioke." He
reported the matter TO the police and the
next morning found his wheel returned
and was informed that it had merely
been taken for fun. Up to the present
time the police department has been par
ticularly successful in returning stolen
wheels, but If in the future such success is
not maintained, il wall be in a measure
due to these foolish jOkers. A detective
Is not likely o put forth his best efforts to
locate stolen wheel until he has satisfied
himself that the theft was not Joke. To
do this must necessarily occupy at lea't
one day and the thief who geis a days
start on a wheel places a detective at
big disadvantage. No person of sense can
fail TO see that such iOkers are leopardiz-
ing their own interests, and the man who
would do this is not joker, but fool.
Colonel Jackson was not Collector OF
the port at San Francisco many days be-
fore he realized that it does not become
the dignity OF an official to wink at po-
litical farce. For nearly eight months the
Oakland Custom house has been an object
OF ridjcule and uselessuess. The office
was created first to make q place for a
Democratic official, and secondly, because
IT was needed. When the man for whose
beneht 1t was created resigned, the need
of the place was entirely overlook ed until
Colonel Jackson appointed a successor a
few days ago
People who have travelled abroad know
the value 10 port of having its name on
the sterns OF vessels in foreign harbors
knowing that no vessel can hail from a
port that has not all the attributes of a
haroor, it is at once conce led that the
name OF the port is guarantee that the
port itself Is a commercial center.
One OF the arguments made by mer-
chants in favor OF making Oakland a port
OF entry was that vessels would register
here and in short time the port of OAK.
land would be recognized all over the
maritime world. 1t would have stand
ing at Lloyd's and other maritime agen-
cies, and for this purpose an effort was
made to have Oakland declared a port.
Politics, however, seemed to be the chief
object of the last administration, and
when the su b. Collector resigned the port
OF Oakland was considered worthy of no
acknowledgment at all. Colonel Jackson,
however, has quickly arranged affairs and
now there is some hope that the purposes
for which the merchants desired the port
will be carried out.
a great deal is being said about the
large salaries paid to county officials, but
there is one Office al least for which the
salary is altogether inadequate. 1t is
disgrace 10 the county that any such
salary should be paid. This position is
that OF the matron at the Receiving Hos
pital. This official fills the position of
nurse to female patients and babies
that may be born In tue hospital, cook
10 the steward, keeper of insane and
ary patients that may be in the hospital,
scuilion, foor-washer, laundry woman,
and IN addition she has to be ready to
assist whenever needed in an operation
and to answer the telephone at all hours
OF the day or night.
lFAs there are sometimes as many as
eight patients at the hospital, some ii
whom require special bills of fare, and as
there are many wards and private rooms
TO be kept IN order, it can easily be seen
that the position of matron is one requir-
ing long hours and hard work. During
Ine past tnree months more work has
been done al the Receiving Hospital than
during any previous hree months of its
existence, and on several occasions the
matron has been required to be on deck
fourteen hours or longer a day.
And for all these services the county
paws the marion the muniticent salary OF
SIS per month. Ii :he Supervisors have
any sense of right they will imm ediately
pass a resolution which will at least
double the salary.
Some busy Oaklanders are always
chasing the shadow and losing sight of
the substance. The latestevidence of this
is the objection that has been raised to the
little gilt balls on the dome of the City
Hall.
These balls have been there for many
years, and have troubled no one. The old
hall, however, has been gradually falling
to pieces, and is totally unfit for the
municipal work of a city of the size of
Oakland. This, however, does not appear
TO cause neariy the concern that is aroused
over the fact that there are four balls on
top OF the dome, and that only three can
be seen at once. AS three balls are
generally suggestive of financial incon-
venience, 1t is argued that they should
have no place on the City Hall, but the
fact hat the City Hall is public disgrace
seems to be altogether forgotten
STTrA w Rnoru