The San Francisco call., 1898-05-15

Scott presided, definite steps were ta- ken to oppose the proposed new char ter.
 An address on the subject was de- livered by J. Munsen Chase, whose views were so well liked that they were unanimously indorsed. It was decid- ed to familiarize the public with MT. Chase's views, which were adopted as those of the league, and to this end 1t was agreed to circulate the address in pamphlet form and otherwise.
 Following is the text of the address
 Fellow-citizens of San Francisco: In a few days you will be called upon to adopt or reject, as the fundamental law of your city and county, the charter prOposed hv the Freeholders elected last December It is a VoluminouS document recurring long and exhaustive study in order to ar rive at anything like acurate knowledge Of its provisions, and, along with few things that are commendable, it contains a multiplicity of provisions that are in- congruous with democratic form of government and that are subversive of much that Is best in present institutions. We therefore ask that you carefully con- sider the following objections to it:
 F1rst-It is too long,. It is longer than the Magma Charta and Bill of Rights of Great Britain, the Declaration of Ameri- can Independence, the constitutions of the United States and the State of California all combined. This great length is un- necessary and dangerous, for the greater the length of document the more like Hhood there is that some mischievous omission or insertion of a phrase or word may have been made, accidentally or otherwise.
 An instance of the injurious effect of length may be found in section l, chapter II, article, II. The Board of Supervisors is granted power ito ordain, make and enforce within the limits of the city and county all necessary local, police, sanitary and other laws and regulations" This is a tull ana complete grant of power in the express terms of the State constitu- tion, and any further detail of what the Supervisors may do Is entirely unneces- sary, if not pernicious But the charter as proposed goes on through thirty-four other subdivisions to provide that the Supervisors shall have authority ito reg ulate and control for any and every pur- pose the use of the streets highways. public thoroughfares, public places, al leys and sidewalks of the city and county" etc, etc, each subsequent sub power already granted in the first sub division and repeated in subsequent diyi- SionS of the same section.
 In law, special enumerations of power granted have the effect of nullifying all general grants except as to powers spe- officially enumerated. Hence, in this sec tion we may reasonably expect to find, if the charter is adopted, serious if not fatal
 
 visors, and it matters not in the result whether this failure to grant proper au- thority is an oversight or intentional. In either case, the effect is the same
 Second-The charter contains mischiev- ous restrictions on the legislative author ity. The most serious of these is that provision known as the dollar limit 1Section Il, Chapter l, Article HID, a provision never before placed in the or ganic law of any city or State.
 We want good government. We want it at the least possible cost, but good government we should be resolved to have be the cost 95 cents or $1 05 in the $100 val nation. The dollar limit provision in the charter Is almost certain to prove detri- mental hather than beneficial to the citys best interest. and, therefore, should never have been proposed, and now that it is proposed should serve to defeat the docu- ment containing It.
 With the dollar limit in the organic law tax reform will be out of the question, for 1t will be absolutely impossible to obtain sufficient revenue without keep ing in vogue the pernicious poll tax, and ali forms of inquisitorial business and personal property taxes. The present cost of municipal administration is about $4,- 900 900 annually. Of this, under the dollar limit, it will be possible. to obtain from land, houses and personal property about 8 .500 900 on the present valuation. The re-