The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-01-04

9 ~ %
These figures are taken from the re-
ceipts in the possession of Mr. Alternately,
and a call at the office of the water COM
pany by a reporter verified their cor
@ recmess.
This enormous raise in the water rates
coming just at this time is possessed of
very forceful significance: 1t shows that
the water companies are planning to
make a deceitful showing before the City
Council when they file their statements
upon which the schedule shall be based
which will go into effect July l of this
year and continue one year.
The City Council two weeks ago passed
the ordinary resolution instructing the
clerk to inform the water companies that
they must file their annual report of all
expenditures and receipts for 1898 so that
the Council can commence in February
to fix the schedule for the next fiscal year.
These reports must be filed under the
law before the 3lst day of January in
the succeeding year to the one covered by
the report These reports must contain
a detailed statement of every payment
from every house, PUBLIC building or
other place served by the companies
These reports for 1898 will contain the
receipts at the lower rate and will not
show one cent of the receipts for the
six months commencing January l, dur
ing which the company will be charging
the eXtoruOnate rates guaranteed them
BY an obliging Council
Another significance connected with
this sudden raise in water rates is that
city campaign is now opening and that
several of the Councilmen are candidates
for reelection. 1t is hardly to be sup
posed that the voters will support any of
the men who voted last March to saddle
such steal upon the city as is now be-
Ing carried out
Costa Company brought out some inter-
eStng information. 1t was stated that
from now on the company will charge the
new schedule, the hOnorS of which at the
time 1t was passed, belonged to Council
men Woodward and Henneberry primar-
lily, and to Councilmen Heitmann, Brosna-
nan, Earl and Watklnson Secondarily-the
former two having introduced it and the
whole six having. voted for it.
At the water company's office it was ex-
planned that the raise would not be very
large one, and would only amount to 10
or 10 cents on houses where the rate has
been 81 per month. investigation outside
proves that the rate on a house paying
81 80 is now g 80. which is a raise of a lit
tie over 81 per cent-which the cashier
.courteously said is small.
GU see, he said our first charge is
made on the basis of the amount of space
the house occupies. Then we charge for
irrigatng, so much a square foot. After
that if there rs a bath in the house there
IS a small charge for that. Then we are
also enabled under the schedule to make
another charge for a closet if there be one
attached to the house. OF course there is
difference between: one and two story
houses. Hitherto we have not charged
year."
Had the cashier not been quite so busy
he might have gone on little farther and
said that under the schedule we charge
so much extra for a horse or cow, so
much for washing windows with hose so
much in the public schools for the amount
OF space they occupy and just a small
amount per pupil. We also charge special
rates for laundries and very special rates
for every branch of the municipal service
TOW Tr~i+ h
the fire MIGRANTS. for the planting and re-
pairing OF which, under the new ordi-
nance, we are also entitled to collect gen.
erously'-and all this would have been
just as true as what the cashier did say
When the Water Committee of the
Council made its investigation last Feb
ruary into the affairs of the water COM
panies 1t took their figures and allowed
generously for all possible margins after
which it fixed a schedule that would al
Low per cent Investment on the inflated
capitalizations of the companies. The
rates now being charged are just about
twice what would have been collected
under the ordinance, the preparation of
which was undertaken with much con-
scientiousness and care.
This ordinance, however, as all of Oak
land knows, was thrown aside by the
:"solid six and one prepared by Mr. Hen
neberry was substituted. There was some
1rregularity about this, and then came
forward Major E. w. Woodward, who
had been appointed but a week but who
was already furnished with an elaborate
schedule and defense of the water COM
panies, which he claimed to have pre-
pared, but which was proved at the time
were prepared by employees of the water
combine. This is the schedule which is
now being foisted on the public and
which will pay the. water companies for
the next six months fully Is per cent in
terest on their inflated capitalizations,
while the law allows. them per cent.
AS the water companies "came to-
gether" in January. of last year and
raised the rate on 5O-cent house to 81 95
and as there is now the same under
standing between the two companies,
the raise on January ! was general.
In this connection it is interesting to
note that last October The Call publish
ed exclusively the statement that the wa
house for the purpose of enforcing the ex-
tortionate Woodward schedule, which
was to go into effect at the close of last
year or the beginning of this year. At
panies rushed into print and Indignantly
denied that they. were doing any, such
thing or that they contemplated any
raise on the rates then in force.
For the past six months little by little
the Woodward schedule has been applied
to the municipal buildings, and where 800
per month was formerly paid at the City
Hall the bill suddenly jumped to S110.
A conservative estimate of the effect of
the Woodward ordinance If put into full
force over the rates fixed by the commit
tee and guaranteeing fully 6 per cent on
the investment would place the steal now
commenced at $780, 900 for the fiscal year.
COMPANIES TO COMBINE.
Contra Costa Stock Takes q Sig
nificant Jump.
OAKLAND. Jan. 3.-Considerable ex-