The San Francisco call., 1899-05-06
Form a Trust, Contribute Funds
and Employ Legal Counsel.
Beginning of an Organized Effort to Render Invalid
the City's New Organic Law-Will Try
TO Prevent an Election.

T HE office holders of the city and
county of san Francisco have
formed a trust and subscribed to
a fund for the purpose of defeat
ing the provisions of the new
charter. Legal counsel has been en-
ploved and as soon as the necessary
stems can be taken the aid of the courts
will be invoked to prevent the holding
of a primary election and munlclpal
election for the purpose OF electlng ON
GERS of the city and county as provided
for by the charter.
For reasons that are apparent the
movement by which the office holders
have banded themselves together mas
been kept secret until all of the inter
ested officials had pledged themselves
10 lend moral and financial support to
the scheme to defeat the new organic
law. So far as can be learned but two
of the officers of the municipal govern
ment have refused TO enter into the
compact. These are Mayor Phelan ana
city and County Attorney Lane.
Il refused to become party TO the
scheme" -" said Attorney Lane yesterday
because to do so l would have TO
stultifv myself and violate my own
conscience and the expressed wishes OF
the people who elected me. Some time
ago an attorney came to me and asked
me how much l was willing to contrib
ute to a fund to fight the charter and
its provisions as regards the terms Oh
present office holders. He was willing
he said, to guarantee that l should hold
office at least two years. l informed
him that I would not consider the prop
osition for the reason that l was III
favor of the charter had worked for 1t
and wanted TO see its provisions car
ried into effect. That ended the mat
Ter SO far as I was concerned, but l am
informed that with the exception OF
Mayor Phelan and possibly one other
official all of the present office holders
under the municipal government have
entered into the combination and Will
fight the provisions Of the charter TO
the bitter end.
so far as l am concerned, when my
successor is elected under the pro-
visions Of the charter l viii step down
and out without a word of protest.
Attorney a. Ruef has been selected
as the legal representative Of the office
preparing an extensive brief upon
which the contention of his clients is to
be supported in the courts. AS soon
as he has completed this preparatory
work active measures will be taken to
prevent the election of the successors
of the men VINO claim the right to hold
office contrary to the provisions Of the
new charter.
Il am not at liberty at this time to
.1f- ION la re, IF g
we will make against the charter" said
Attorney Ruef yesterday, but you may
quote me as saying that there is not a
shadow Of a doubt but that the pro-
visions of the charter, so far as they
aDply to present office holders, viii be
declared invalid by the courts. 1t may
be that the entire charter will be de-
clared invalid, unconstitutional and
void l have been employed to take
the initial steps in the matter and have
my brief almost completed.
Il do not care TO disclose the grounds
on which the provisions Of the charter
and the charter itself will be attacked.
l can only say in a general way that
We believe the county officers may hold
their Offices for the full four years for
which they were elected, and that the
provisions of the charter which would
limit their tenure Of Office to one year
are unconstitutional. AS to the city
officers we hold that they are entitled
to hold office for the full two years for
which they were elected for the reason
that the whole charter is invalid. l do
not think it wise to point out the law
upon which we viii base our cOnten-
ton, but we have not the least doubt
of our ability to accomplish all that we
propose to do and when the matter
comes up in the courts we will explode
q bombshell that will be a big surprise
To some people
If what Attorney Ruef says be true
then all of the time and money and all
Of the laborious and painstaking work
that was necessary to frame the char
ter End secure it's ratification by the
Legislature has been thrown away
Not only this. but the litigation that
Is about to be precipitated by the office
holders viii involve the city and its
affairs in a legal controversy that will
REQUIRE the expenditure of a great
amount of money and viii throw the
affairs of government into such a hope
less tangle as will result in irremedi-
able loss and confusion.
Those office holders who are known tC
have entered into the compact to defeat
the charter and retain their official po-
sitions beyond the time contemplated
by the new organic law decline TO dis
cuss the matter or to even admit that
they intend to appeal 10 the courts
They simply refuse to discuss the sub
ject and dismiss all questioners with
the equivocal statement Wait til
the time comes. We are not yet pre-
pared to discuss the matter"
From hints dropped here and there
it is conjectured that the contention OF
the otncers, so far as county officers
are concerned, will be based on the