The herald., 1897-09-16
FIRED OUT
AS IDIOTS
San Francisco Supervisors
Scored
EXCUSES OF lNCOMPETENCY
ARE WORSE THAN NO EXCUSE
AT ALL
A New Board Of Supervisors Chosen
Today-Interminabl Litiga-
ton Likely to Result
Press Special Wire.

Associated Press special wire.
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15.-Judge
Wallace this morning rendered his decis-
ion in the suit instituted by G. X. Fitch
to oust the members of the Board Of
Supervisors from office for malfeasance,
ordering judgment for the plaintiff as
against all the defendants, as prayed
for
Fitch brought his action to oust the
Supervisors from office for not fixing the
water rates in February, as the law re-
quires. The Supervisors did not fix the
rates until July, asserting they could
not do so before, as the Spring Valley
Water Company, in spite of repeated
requests from the Supervisors, neglected
| to furnish the board with data enough
to enable 1t intelligently and fairly to
fix the rates.
| Supervisors Lackman and Rottanzi
filed separate answers, in which they
pleaded that they had voted against the
postponement. and that the rates would
have been fixed in February had their
motions not been defeated by the ma
| jority.
Judge Wallace, however, in long de-
cision, declares all the Supervisors out
of office, Lackman and Rottanzi in
cluded.
Judge Wallace continued his decision
in the following words:
Nothing now remains to be considered
except the excusa-the excuse OF the
board for not fixing these rates in Febru-
ary last-for, as observed already. ex-
cuses Of individual members are not con-
templated by the law; and upon the sup
posed excuse Of the board little need be
said-little more than has already been
said in the findings. The board had no
excuse; OF had in February all the in
formation it needed to enable 1t to act
| upon the subject Of water rates in that
month as required by the law. That It
did not have it Is but a pretense; 1t was
legally the master of the situation, but
it permitted itself to be dominated by
the corporation; it pretended to beg for
and be refused the information 1t had
| the right and power to compel If 1t needed
it, at the hands Of the corporation, who.
| if it refused when so lawfully command
| ed by the board, would have but imper-
lied its own pecuniary interest. and
would never have been heard to complain
that the action Of the board in fixing the
rates was unjust, when it appeared that
the injustice. if any. was brought about
by it's own misconduct in refusing to
obey the mandate of the board.
| "Tne pretended excuse here offered in
fact assumes the intellectual incompe-
tency of the board to fulfill its duties.
"If however. it has happened that the
defendant board Is incompetent to this
remarkable degree 1t is certainly not to
regretted, II attention is to be paid to the
public interest, that such board must
now give way to another which may
prove more capable of performing the
important duties confided to it by the
law"
A SAD SITUATION
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 15.-The re-
moval of the board of supervisors by
Judge Wallace this morning, in response
to the petition of G. K. Fitch, on account
of their failure to comply with the re-
quirements Of the law as regards water
| rates, leaves the city in a situation of ex-
| treme urgency. as the law requires that
| the tax levy must be fixed on or before
Monday next. While the ousted board
| ignored the decision entirely and pro-
ceeded to discuss, as a committee Of the
| whole, the question Of the tax levy this
| afternoon, its actions cannot, In view of
| the fact that the board no longer has any
existence, be regarded as official, and
| until a new board shall have been ap-
| pointed nothing can be done
| The question as to who shall appoint
| the new board has already caused con-
| troversy, Mayor Phelan declaring tha:
| this power is vested in him, while Gov
ernor Budd insists that he alone has sue n
power under the constitution and what
is known as the consolidation act. 1t Is
possible. however. that this matter may
be adjusted by the appointment Of the
same men. so that while each maintained
his position there would be no conflict
between them.
Meantime the ousted board has not
been idle, for its attorney, immediate tely
after the Judgment had been entered this
afternoon, filed bills of exception and
notices of appeal from the decision of
Judge Wallace, as the preliminary steps
toward taking the matter up to the su-
preme court.
The consensus of opinion of the legal
fraternity is that interminable litigation
will result from the dcsion Knowing the
board from office. They suggest that
even should a new board be appointed
and make the tax levy within the time
specified by law many actions may be
brought by property owners, who claim
that the new board had no power to
make it.
A NEW BOARD
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 16.-Gov.
Buoi and Mayor Phelan held a corfer-
ence at the Palace hotel tonight COM
tinuing until nearly a. m. today, when
the names of the following gentlemen
were agreed on as members of the board
of supervisors, to replace those dis
missed by Judge Wallace:
Charles Ashton, Joseph Britton, James
H. Barry. Washington Dodge. John
Lackmann, William Dresbach, H. D.
Fortmann, w. J. Biggy, A. Rotanxi. c.