The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-12-05
PATIENT PEOPLE
Of TIE MISSION
Years Ago They Paid for
a Wide and Beautiful
Avenue.
Field of Assessment Reached
1000 Feet on Either Side
Of the Street.
The Tax Cleaners Gathered as a Har-
vest $l57,772 in Gold Coin, but
No Benefits Have Arrived.

When taxpayers contribute coin for
pubic improvement they put up the
money with reasonable expectation that
they will derive some benefit from the in
veslment while they are alive. No doubt
the owners of properly who paid $157, 900
to have Mis- sion street widened from
Twenty-sixth street TO the county line en-
tertained the idea that the enterprise
would be fulfilled during their day and
generation, but the indications are that
they will be disappointed. The improve
ment was projected a long time age-be-
fore the var between Japan ana China.
Tie promoters OF the scheme went
about the work in the regular fashion of
having commissioners appointe secre-
tary and clerks hired, draughtsmen en-
gagged, rooms furnished and attendants
employed 10 look after the care of the
quarters. When all the contingent items
were figured up the bill amounted to
S27 GOO, which sum was duly paid from
the amount collected from property own
ers assessed.
The assessment area was not narrow
strip by any means, but covered a field
1000 feet in width OH either side of the
street. In the course of timo the land
taken to widen the street was paid for by
assessments on landowners, who were
supposed to stand chance of receiving
benefits by reason of widened thorough
fare.
In June, 1887, the petition was filed to
increase the width OF Mission street from
Iwenty-siXth street to the county line to
81 feet inches. In Decembe of that
year the resolution was published in The
CALL. Later on the Board OF Supervisors
appointed George Law Smith, John J.
HALEY and d. j. Oullahan as commission
ers. OulIahan was gathered to his fathers
in 1889 and z. f. Ward was appointed 10
hill The vacant chair of the commission.
The sale OF The property for non pay
ment OF assessment was concluded Deem
Der 10, 1889. The entire amount realized
from payment OF the assessment before
and after delinquency was $157, 772. A
schedule OF the lots sold was hled in the
Office OF the Board OF Supervisors, the or
igtnai and duplicate maps of the commits
sion were fled away in The Recorders Of
hce, the strip taken to widen the street
was dellneated on the map and then the
patient property-owners whose money had
been taken began TO wait for the expected
improvement. Since that time they have
been waiting. The street is wider than it
was IN 1887, and so Is the experience of the
landowners. The street is Older than 1T
was then and so are The property owners,
bat the benefits have not yet arrived.
The owners OF the immediate frontage
have the wide street which The property
owners away off on the thousand-foot
limit paid for, but all efforts 10 improve
the tnoroughfare to that degree of ex-
ceHenCe which was promised when land
owners parted with their coin have been
vain and futile.
There is no talk of indicting anybody.
The Mission, proverbiully free from fog,
is free from malice. There is no agitation
Tor mass-meeting to roast the living or
execra:e the dead promoters OF the
scheme. The inhabitant are simply
waiting and wondering why nothing more
has been done 10 convert Mission street
from Twenty sixth to the county line into
the noble avenue which was promised
when they paid for that purpose the sum
of S157772