The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-20
ONLY THREE
WEEKS BEFORE
THE BAT TIE
Oakland Desires No
Extremist.
CAMPAIGN OF PERSONALITY
SNOW HAS OUTLINED HIS PLAT
FORM.
CAMPAIGN OF PERSONALITY
SNOW HAS OUTLINED HIS PLAT
. FORM.
Questionable Practices Have Not
Benefited the Water Monopoly.
Cranks Are Not to Be
Countenanced.
Oakland Office San Francisco Call.


. busy ones for ii is pretty we'll acknoWl-
= edged that no candidate for office is to
be accepted at his self-appraised face
value: The keynote of the campaign was
ffttingly voiced by Hon. Giles H. Gray at
the meeting OF the Municipal League
Thursday night. This is not campaign
of parties he said, but campaign for
O. gooG government. No national principles
are involved, and no man is violating his
= party fealty, whatever it may be, by act
ing in a bipartisan capacity in this
campaign"
1t is a campaign of scrutiny and per-
sonal worth is the basis of vote-getting.
A practical wave seems to have swept
over the voters, and no one appears 10
care whether a man is an fmperlaHSt OF
a socialist so long as he possesses the
Intelligence, ability and manhood neces-
sary to serve in a public capacity. The
people are not basing their opinions on
. a mans previous stand politically; they
=. are examining his past life, his standing
with his creditors, his standing socially,
and even his family relations in order to
ascertain whether those who are candi-
dates are possessed of the moral SIAM
ina that will insure honesty and economy
in the government of Oakland.
AT the same time there is no desire for
extremists. People do not want .corpo-
ration" men or 'anti-corporauon men,
They do not desire prohibitonistS or
free-saloon license advocates. They do
not desire injudicious penuriousness nor
sire high tax advocates nor cheap men.
In a word, there is a desire for intelli-
gent men of fair, broad views, who can
follow a policy to the end without pelng
swerved to one side or the other or
turned backward Auditor Snow clever
ly expressed this sentiment a few nights
ago when he said that although economy
must be not only sentiment but prac-
tice in successful city government, stlii
1t is false economy to have a cheap
government Mr. Snow explained his
. statement by declaring that a city can
not stand still, but must retroSrade or
progress. 1t is not sufficient to raise
Just enough revenue on which to run
city and not TO have any for permanent
improvements, any more than 1t is COM
-mendable to fix a tax so high as to leave
a large surplus to be squandered in the
interests of any body or influence which
may secure a pull on city officials
The fact that voters have been so gener-
ously supplied with political oratory in
the past is recognized by candidates who
are all DESTROYS of keeping off the public
platform as much possible and of max
ing personal campaigns. Probably not for
another week will a public demonstration
be made by any party, and it would be alb
solutely impossible to bring out large au-
diences night after night TO listen to the
broadcast for years. This is not a cam
paign of platforms or promises: All the
parties have formulated model aoc c.
ried out would give to Oakland all that
any pessimist could desire in the way or
beneficial government. But 1t IS well
known that much that is promised would
not be carried out by those VINO nave
pledged themselves, and therefore ,o a,, me ne
depended upon to carry out their pledges,
no matter what their views may be on
national political questions.
Mr.. Snow has already given an outline
OF what might be called the basis of his
campaign, and it is evident that the tax
Of Il icT1f1 70 hfa-
tween the two men seeking the office OF
Mayor
John L. Davie has always maintained
that a dollar tax is ample upon which to
run the city. Mr.. Snow has declared that
when he as Auditor in 1889 had the power
to dominate the tax levy he fixed it at 81,
turned over a large surplus into the next
fiscal wear Mr. Davie has not yet made
his first speech in this campaign, but Will
: do so toward the end of this week. 1t IS
said that he is working very carefully on
his subjects so as TO be able to present
without any element of doubt his exact
position on matters municipal. After ne
has done this the line will be tightly
drawn and for the following two weeks
the battle must necessarily be very bitter,
the records of candidates as PUBLIC off-
Gals wfll ue brought up, 1t is realized that
the first camp to indulge IN eplthetS anu
what is known as mud-slinging will be at
s a disadvantage, for Oakland voters nave
been too well trained in politics during the
past ten years to be deceived by Inc Usual
tactics of polIlcians.
After listening to the speech of Mr.
Watknson, manager for the Contra
Costa. Company, before the City Coun-
ell. l am inclined to think that even in
local politics honesty is the best policy
With all its manipulating and its pur-
chasing of manhood during the past
twenty years, this corporation has not
received what is due to it under the law
in
years and Just one-half of this period it
has not paid dividends The law entities
it to a reasonable rate of interest on the
value of it's plant, and it has not received
1t. The reason is very plain. 1t has stood
in it's own way of being fairly treated.
Just how it made its initial entrance into
politics and commenced to debauch Coun-
ellis and city officials matters not Such
an entrance into ilegitimate business was
made, and the company has suffered ap-
parently as much as the people. Year
after year the company's officials go be-
fore the Council and are listened to re-
specially as individuals as they tell
about the costs and present value of their
plant, but at the same time the man post
ed on public affairs is smiling up his
full well that they are not correct; that
they are based on fancy, and that only
the original books which went out of ex-
istenee with Anthony Chabot could throw
q clear light on the subject. Had the
company followed throughout an honest
policy of dealing squarely with the peo-
pie year after year and not have brought
suspicion and worse on itself by it's many
attempts to secure benefit unearned, at
tainly have Jared better. Many men who
have sat in the Council, 1 doubt not,
have been actually forced. against their
judgment, to favor water-rate ordi-
nance below a legitimate figure to pro-
tect themselves from the inevitable
charge which would otherwise be made of
being bought by the corporation. There
is no reason why the Contra Costa Com
pany and the city of Oakland should not
deal as harmoniously and as squarely
with each other as any other two parties
to a contract.
1t is surely not beyond the limit of pos
sibility in these days of commercial man
agement that city like Oakland can
not be supplied with water without there
being not only suspicion but positive evil
dence of the existence of crookedness. If
there be any merit in the company's con-
tention that 1t has not received its just