davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26
Plan
 O the Mcsa
 

ed by Mayor Phelan to devise and plan an exposition that will properly bring to the attention of the world the re- sources and products of the Pacific Slope.
 1t is thought by some that the Worlds Fair would draw many people who would visit this city if there were not a counter-a attraction. For that req son it has been suggested by those who are heartily in accord with the move ment looking toward the holding of a large exposition that we defer our fair until 1901.
 4 meeting was held yesterday morn ing in the Mayors office to discuss the preliminary details of the exposition. Letters were received from several in- vited by the Mayor to take part in the preliminary work regretting that other business kept them away from the meeting. but they sent assurances of their hearty support.
 Mayor Phelan. in calling the meeting to order. stated that he sent invita- tions to prominent business and profes- sional men asking them to cooperate in forwarding an exposition that would be worthy of the State and its re- sources.
 Tt has been suggested by The Call" said he. that an exposition he held in 1900 to commemorate the fiftieth ami
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26
Present Trustees Will Not Surrender Their
 Offices.
Their Successors Will Not Be Given Certificates of
 Election.
Governor Budd Claims That the Purity of Election Law Has Been
 Violated by Pledges Made.

The Board of State Library Trustees will meet in Sacramento to-day. and nothing is more certain than that a lawsuit will be the outcome of it. The present members of the board will re- fuse to give way to the Trustees elected by the last Legislature unless they pre- sent the proper credentials signed by the Governor The Governor will not sign the credentials.
 The charge has been made that the Trustees elected to take office next Monday have violated the purity of election law by making an agreement as to how the patronage of the Li- brarian's office shall be divided. In fact, it is charged that four of their number signed a pledge to not employ any but Republicans in the library. Prior to the election of the Trustees who will claim office next Monday let ters were sent out by John H. Dickin- son, Thomas Flint Jr and w. F. Price, members of the Legislature appointed at a Republican caucus, notifying can didates for election as Library Trus- tees that 1t would be necessary to pledge themselves to Republican rule. The letter was so worded that any Trustee living up to it's obligations could not under any circumstances ap- point or vote for a Democrat to hold place in the State Library
 The caucus letter was published in full in The Call on the 18th inst, and Governor Budd was not slow in talk ing notice of the political document He says that he will not issue certificates to the Trustees chosen by. the last
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26

portion of the park and make a gar den spot around the fair. A few cleo tric lines could be extended out that way and the land in the vicinity would attain more value. EX-Mayor Sutro owns most of the land out there, and think he and his family would be glad to let us have the use of it. 1 think a Midwinter Fair by the ocean would be delightful. Just think of holding an exposition beside the ocean. I think no better spot could be chosen"
 After the adjournment of the meet ing Mayor Phelan said he would not name the members of the committee for several days. T do not intenu nam ing any one" said he, unless l am certain that he will take an active in- terest in forwarding the movement. With the proper amount of energy we can give an exposition that will draw the attention of the whole world to our coast. I believe the exposition should be planned on international lines. If we wait until 1901 we can un- doubtedly secure the best of the Paris exhibits and give a miniature repre- sentation of the Worlds Fair. The Midwinter Fair was a success. The exposition proposed by The Call should be a greater one. Let us wait until 1901 to hold our exposition, and I have no doubt but that we will be success full Energy and concentration of ac- tion are all that are required"
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26

their intention of holding a celebration in 1900. The States admission will be celebrated by them. Why not have an exposition in the fall and winter months of 1901? We can send a commissioner to Paris. and he could spend his time making arrangements for the shipping of exhibits to this city. The foreign ex- hibits can be shipped around the Horn from Havre or Marseilles much cheap CT than from Chicago or other points As you all will remember the Midwin- ter Fair was made up of attractions from the Chicago Fair. We could step in now and keep the field open for coast exposition in 1901. In that year there would be a practicability of hold ing one
 q am like you, Mayor Phelan," said Joseph Leggett. T am in favor of an exposition if We can get it. I consider however. that 1900 would hardly be In good taste to hold an international ex- position. I think one year later would be better"
 Tt will be seven or eight years after the Midwinter Fair" interrupted May or PheIan. T think 1t would be easy to get LID an exposition after the one at Paris. I believe it an excellent plan to wait There will be many who will be unable to see the Paris Exposi- tion in 1900 who would visit our exposi- tion in 1901."
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26

IN exposition to commemorate the
 N semi-centennial anniversary of the n admission of California into the
 Union is now assured. Every one admits that such an exposition should be held to show to the world our won derful resources and products. Califor- nia will not alone be benefited by such an exposition.
 The AIidwinter Fair proved a far greater success than was anticipated by the most sanguine of it's directors. It brought many thousands of visitors to our hospitable shores and our eli mate did the rest. Many who came in search of amusement were so charmed by our climate and our resources that they decided to make California their future home.
 That an exposition such as has been suggested by The Call would prove of great benefit not alone to this State but to the entire Pacific Slope is ad- mitted by all. The only question now asked is, would it be advisable to hold an exposition in 1900, knowing that the Worlds Fair will be held at Paris the same year? That question will be an- swered by a committee to be appoint
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26
NO CHECK
 ON COURT
 REPORTERS Police Judge Prac- tices to Be Inves-
 tigated. Stenographers Have a Free Entry to the
 City's Vaults. Bills Indorsed by the Judges Paid Without the Sanction
 of the Auditor.

The explanation of Justinius Olsen to the Grand Jury duplicating Judge Low in his alleged crime of present ing incorrect bills to the Treasurer for fees as court stenographer will lead to a thorough investigation by the jury of Police Court practices.
 In the first place it will be deter mined how Olsen came to be appointed to so responsible a position. A court stenographer has justice at his mercy. Cases are not unknown where stenog- raphers have so changed the testimony of witnesses in the transcription for a bribe that the complexion of the evil dence when read in higher tribunals was entirely different from that first given, so that guilty persons have es- caped punishment. Olsen, as far as police records go, is not man who would hesitate to accept bribe money. A few months ago he was a prisoner charged with obtaining money by false pretenses, and he was convicted by Judge Joachimsen. The court, however, was lenient with him and
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26

barometer has remained almost sta- tiOnary all day, still the sky has all the appearance of rain. One point in ia vor of my contention is that if it was clearing after the storm the wind should be northwest instead of south east or southwest, as it has been.
 ''The cessation of rain, which l be- lieve to be only temporary, is due to the storm having rebounded off the coast into the ocean, but it has not gone so far that it will not come back and give us plenty of rain. The high pressure over the plateau region has permanently disappeared, and has left us in excellent shape for copious rain falls whenever a storm shall come.
 ''We have had about one inch of rain over one-half of the State The pre- cipitation has been north and west of a line drawn from Point Conception north and little east to the eastern edge of the Sacramento Valley. To the southeast of that line 1.10 inch fell and only 15-100 inches in the San Joaquin Valley. The dry spots where no rain fell were the west end of Merced coun- ty and two or three places on the west side of the San Joaquin. The southern boundary of the rain is between Los Angeles and San Diego, none having fallen at the latter place up to o'clock Friday.
 "The rains that we have had would hardly grow a crop, but will help to a great extent the pasturage for live stock, which were in dire need of it. The San Joaquin Valley is probably in better condition than any other local ity on account of the natural moisture that pervades the soil there, and if it would get two inches in a period not extending over ten days it would be all that is necessary. The warm, sultry condition of the atmosphere Friday afternoon is also a good indication for more rain, as it shows that the storm has not left us, for the source of heat is the condensing of the moisture in the storm"
 When seen later in the evening MT. Hammon said: 1T think that I have described the weather situation accu- rately, and Saturday it will rain ev- anywhere from San Luis ObiSpo north. The storm center is opposite the Ore gon coast, and the barometer is falling slowly but surely The rainfall to-day has been very light, 2100 inch having fallen in this city; HOO in Los Angeles; 4-100 in Red Bluff, Carson and San Luis Obispo, and 6-100 in Los Banos."
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26

paid out of the treasury of the county or city and county in which the case is tried, upon the order of the court.
 That, he says, does not mean that the provisions of the consolidation act shall be ignored. Section 84 of that act says:
 Every demand upon the treasury must, before it can be paid be presented to the Auditor of the city and county, who shall satisfy himself that the money is legally due and remains unpaid.
 Section s7 of the same act says:
 The Auditor is the head of the finance department of the city and county and as such is required to be constantly ac- Quainted with the exact condition of the treasury and every lawful demand upon, it.
 'It is apparently the desire of some of the judges" said the Auditor, ito escape an investigation of their stenographers' bills when they demand direct payment on their orders. The law gives the judges the right to draw the warrants to pay their reporters, but it does not imply that the safeguards now around the city treas ury should be removed
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26

versary of the admission of California into the Union. I am heartily In favor or an exposition. With me it is sim ply a question as to the advisability of holding the exposition that year.
 Joseph Leggett said that, while he favored the exposition, he feared that the Worlds Fair to be held in Paris in 1900 would prove a counter attraction that would be the means of keeping many people away, who under other circumstances would visit this coast.
 T believe in expositions, and think the idea suggested by The Call an ex- cellent one,'' added Mayor Phelan
 This is holiday State, and an expo sition would prove of great value in ad- Vertising the resources and products not alone of California, but of the en- tire coast. In 1900 the Paris Exposition will be held, and I fear it will prove a great attraction for Eastern people, They will find it just as cheap to jour ney to the other side. They are the people we want to visit us. It is un- fortunate that our fiftieth anniversary is contemporaneous tc the Paris Expo- sition. I met Mir de Young, the pro- pretor of the Chronicle at lunch yes terday, and he said that, while he fa- vored an exposition, he did not think that 1900 was the year for it. He sug- gested that it might be postponed until 1901. The Native Sons have declared
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26

delayed punishment on condition that the persons he swindled should be re- paid.
 A few months after that he was ap- pointed to the responsible position in Judge Lows court. Attorneys Who knew of his unsavory record wondered at Judge Low placing so much conh- dence in him.
 It is common talk among Police Court practitioners that the stenogra- pher is the intermediary between the principals in the cases in courts and the Judges. It is said that the prose cution of a great many felony cases has been dismissed in the lower court on payment to the stenographer Of the amount his fees would have come to had the person charged been held to answer in the higher court. If the Judge gets part of the money or not 1t is a matter so far only of conjecture, but it is the belief of those who know the workings of the Police Courts that the Judge and the stenographer divide the fees. It is also said that cases where stenographers are required are disposed of not particularly on their judicial merits, but so as to incur big bills for the court reporter.
 The Judge of the Court is the only person in the civic government to vouch for the correctness of the bills, and should collision exist between the Judge and the stenographer the vaults of the city treasury may as well be without locks or guards as far as they are concerned.
 The City Treasurer has the record of an incorrect bill that was presented by Stenographer Vernon. A long and inn portant case had closed on a Friday and the following Monday the stenog- rapher presented bill indorsed by the Judge for fees amounting to $500. Au- ditor Frederick happened to be with the Treasurer when the bill was pre- sented, and he asked Vernon If he had completed the transcript of the case and placed it with the proper city off, cial. Vernon replied that he had not but it would be ready in few days He. however, said he was going on a holiday, and he wanted the money. The Treasurer refused to pay the bill until the transcript of the case was com pleted and on file, and when it was checked up 1t was found that the sten- ographer was entitled to over $500 less than the bill that was indorsed by the Judge called for.
 Auditor Broderick claims that the bills of the stenographers on the in- dorsement of the Judges only are paid contrary to law. The Auditor, in SUD- port of his claim. quotes paragraph 274 of the Civil Code, which says:
 Tn criminal cases. when the testimony has been taken down or transcribed upon the order of the court, the fees of the re- porter shall be certified by the court and
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26

Legislature, and also says that he ex- poets to be brought into court in the matter.
 q suppose that I will be manda- mused," said Governor Budd yesterday afternoon, but that will not in the least bother me. l will not issue the certificates to the trustees who will claim office on Monday for several req sons. I hold that, with the possible exception of J. H. Neff, they all took a pledge that is in violation of the purity of election law. The gentlemen who claim office by virtue of election by the last Legislature will, if I am correctly informed, attend the meeting of the Library Trustees tomorrow and ask fer their credentials. I intend be- ing present, and will decline to give take is on the ground that their elec- tion in joint session of the Senate and Assembly was never properly certified to by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House. In addition, the pledge given by them to the Republican caucus is in violation of the purity of election law. Another and important fact to be borne in mind is that the section of the Political Code governing the management of the State Library and the election of it's trustees went into effect in 1873, and provided that the term of office of the trustees should be for a period of four years Under that law I fail to understand how the term of the present trustees could terminate in 1S9S In other words, if each term of office as State Library Trustee is to be for four years, and the law under which we are now working went into effect in 1873, the incumbents' terms would not expire until 1899"
 It is understood that the State Con- troller, who is a Republican, will rec ognize the Trustees elected by the last Legislature, regardless of the position taken by Governor Budd. If the Con troller recognizes the new board it will have absolute control of the library funds. Tn the event of legal warfare being necessary, and that is almost cer- tain, w. w. Foote will represent the Governor.
 The point advanced by the Governor that the election of Trustees was not certified to by the President of the Sem ate and Speaker of the Assembly does not, in the judment of lawyers, present much of an obstacle. The journals of that days session of the Legislature were certified to as correct by the pre- siding officers, respectively of the Sen ate and Assembly, and this certificate covers the proceedings of the joint con- yention at which the Trustees were elected. This approval is believed to be sufficient.
 The second point concerning viola ton of the purity of election law may receive a different construction from that which the Governor apprehends. An enlightened court would probably construe a pledge to appoint Republi- cans as a pledge to administer the af- fairs of the library in an honest, intelli- gent and creditable manner.
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26
UMBRELLAS
 IN DEMAND Fore caster HanmOn Says the Storm Is Still
 With Us.
Copious Rains Will, Therefore, Fall Throughout the
 State To-Day.
The Anxious Farmers Correspond entIy Jubilant Over the
 Prospects.

The truth of the old adage that there is nothing so certain as the uncertainty of California weather has been pracu- caIly exemplified In the conditions that have obtained in the past few days during the visit of the last rainstorm. Ii can well be said that for ways that are dark and tricks that are vain, our climate is most peculiar. Ihis storm did not have to overcome that area of high pressure over the plateau region in Arizona, Utah and Nevada which former storms had to meet and which were in consequence def1ected rom thls district for so long. It therefore came to us free and untrammeled, and yet comparatively little rain has fallen throughout the State, and as a result there has not yet been as much ram as needed in any locality
 When Official Forecaster Hammon was seen at the Weather Bureau in the Mills building and asked yesterday att ernoon as to what the farmers had 10 expect from the existing weather COIL litions. he said: T would rather some body else did the forecasting, for IL Is well known that prognostications in re- gard to this climate are not infalliDie. However, I am of the opinion from re- ports that we have received to-day that the present storm has not done it's full duty. The storm never would have reached here at all had the conditions been the same as they were several weeks ago. I anticipate that the storm has not yet fully spent it's strength, and that we will get more rain before it leaves us entirely. and. although the ]
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26
WOULD BENEFIT
 BUSINESS MEN
Henry J. Seegelken Gives His Views on the Proposed
 Exposition.

HENRY J. SEEGELKEN of the wholesale liquor firm of Seegelken 6 Buckner heartily indorses the proposed exposition, and gives his opinion that it will be of untold advantage to the State.
 San Francisco" said the merchant, ''is rapidly on the decline and unless it gets something of this character to help it along there is no telling where the present state of business depression will end. An exposition planned on such stupendous scale as proposed by The Call is bound to be of advantage in helping and bettering the present state of business affairs both in the city and the State generally. It is sure to attract visitors here, no matter how much positive truth is expressed that
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26

Don't you think it would be a good idea to adjourn until the other mem bers of this committee could be seen, ' said John H. Grady, "and their opin- ion as to the advisability of holding the exposition one year later was had?'
 There is no need of that" said Mayor Phelan, "as it is my intention to appoint committee of fifteen and they will decide on the year in which the exposition shall be held. California was admitted to the Union on Sep tember 9, 1850, but it did not put on it's statehood until some time later.''
 What year was the Chicago fair opened?" asked Leggett.
 They started to open it in 1892, which was the four hundredth anni- versary of the discovery of our coun- try, but did not open until 1898" replied the Mayor; yet it was no less a grand celebration. We might pass some reso- lutions and get the affair started" he concluded.
 The following resolutions were then presented and adopted
 WHEREAS, There is a general desire to celebrate in fitting man. ner the fiftieth anniversary of the admission of California into the Union by an international exposi-
 
 whereas, San Francisco, by reason of her climate and past experience, is wellftted as a location for such a fair to be held in the fall and winter months; and whereas, the fiftieth anniversary of the admission of the State occurs in the year 1900, when the French exposition is also to be held, and which may on that account force upon the citizens of San Fran cisco the propriety of holding their fair in the following year, just as the anniversary of the discovery of America was celebrated in Chicago in 1893 instead of in 1899; there fore be it
 RESOLVED, As the sense of this meeting that a fair be held com memorative of the fiftieth anniver- sary of the admission of California into the Union; that committee of fifteen be appointed by the Mayor to devise plan and submit it at a meeting of citizens subsequently, to be called, and that they be given discretion in determining in what year it would be most advantageous to hold such exposition and as to the character and scope of the enter prise.
 'I think an exposition in 1901 will go," added the Mayor. We shal want to get appropriations from the Ma tional Government and from our own Legislature, however. The Omaha ex- position, to be held next summer, re- ceived over $200000 from the National Government, and if we could get that amount we would have very little trou- ble in making a fine showing. The Su- preme Court decided not long ago that the Legislature could vote funds for an exposition. In order to get legis- lative aid we should get the movement a-going If we can show to the law makers the value of such an affair they may materially aid us.
 If we get national aid and legisla- tive aid we can send a ship to Paris and offer to carry the exhibits of the Paris Exposition around the Horn to this State without cost to the exhib itors. and we can hold successful ex- position. I have another idea for fair site" he concluded "I think it would be a good idea to get some of the sand hills by the ocean. The Park Commissioners could cultivate that
The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26

and products of the Pacific Coast. An exposition such as has been suggested by The Call would prove of great and lasting benefit to California and con- tiguouS States. The Native Sons have been for long time engaged in pre- pairing for a grand celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of California's ad- mission into the Union. That they will cooperate with the directors of the exposition and assist in every way pos sible to make it a success goes without saying. If the people enter into the movement with the proper spirit suc- cess is assured.