The San Francisco call., 1898-02-17
MERCHANTS
 ON RECORD Declare Their Reasons for Desiring One Gov
 ernnen Bay Cities Are Now Paying Biq Tribute to San
 Francisco. u1s Hoped to. Score a Success With the Next State Legis-
 lature.
Oakland Office San Francisco Call,


 sos Broadway, Feb. 16. The Merchants Exchange has unani. 1oouslv gone on record as favoring con- solidatfon It has issued its report or the matter. and will do all that is pos sibIe to try and bring about a city ant county government. The report wa: written by Director J. F. W. Sohst an( adopted by the entire board. MT. Sohs was appointed a committee of one tC draw up a pamphlet that could be is. sued officially.
 The salient points in the report art as follows:
 If the question is asked of San Francisco bankers, '.Why do you charge us so much more?" we re- Ceive the prompt reply, Your taxes are too high. You support two gov ernments." I stated further that the tax rate in San Francisco was 50 cents lower on the S100 valuation than ours is; so, in all fairness, the banks should not charge more than that difference between the two cities; but, as every one knows, a mortgage runs from one year to four years, and the banks do not know from year to year What jump ar5ot the e tax hS on the safe side, they charge $l in, stead of 50 cents, a difference of 40 cents in their favor.
 But, after all, this 1 per cent looks so insignificant and picayun.- ish that 1t is not worth noticing. So say the non-thinking people or Alameda, Berkeley and the major ity of our own city officials. We will not make anything by consoli- datton," they assert. They need lesson in multiplication. For in stance, a 900 mortgage. on Berkeley property means s40o0O a year extra interest-s3300 a month; Next comes Alameda with S6,000,OOO mortgage, and she is perfectly happy and contented with her sltuatlon. w e are told that these cities Will never unite with Oakland but figures do not lie. Alameda and Berkeley pay S6O 900 a year for their privileges. Let I1s hone that before the next Legisla- ture meets they will have changed their opinion and left prejudice aside, and will have come down to business principles.
 to the fact that they are throwing away 5000 a month by supporting two governments? That is for extra in terest on their S6,0OO,O00 mortgage The Alamedans claim that they have a city of homes, but they seem to forget or do not know that one half of Oakland harbor lies within their borders; that shipbuilding is going on on their side of the har- .bor. and that the Oakland Iron Works employ hundred men day ana night to put machinery into those steamers. Similar steamers are built in San Francisco and Stockton Re- Iaeve the double tax, and great many steamers will be built along our harbor.
 We speak to you as business men, and not as politicians. Our organiZa- ton is composed entirely of merchants and manufacturers. In politics we be- long to all parties, Republicans and dyed-in-thewool Democrats. There fore, we are far apart in opinions, but we are of but one opinion in com ing to the conclusion that we are tax-ridden people, and we want to close up our City Hall and ask you to do the same with yours respec- lively, and use our county buildings for city and county purposes.
 Another thing must be considered. Supposing a man with money wants to buy a home or start a factory. Where will he locate? He will locate where the taxes are lowest. If a man wants to start a factory and has not quite enough money, he goes to a bank in San Francisco to negotiate 8 loan, and is told that if he locates in San Francisco he can get money at per cent, but that on our side of the bay they will charge him s per cent. Where will he locate? He will locate where money is the cheapest
 Our electric roads get benefit by carrying people to and fro, which helps them to pay their many em- ployes the $40, 900 a month which they earn, and the people who live near the power-houses get a share of this money. The croakers should give us credit for keeping the trade on this side of the bay
 It becomes the duty of this exchange to keep up this agitation and educate those who have not given the matter thought as to its importance, and when the conventions meet this sum- ner to nominate candidates for the State election all parties will put it in their platforms, and the people will see to it that no one goes to Sacra- mento who is not strongly in favor of consolidation.