The San Francisco call., 1899-03-09
DiCkiDSOnS HarbOr Commission Bill Laid to
Rest
ONLY NINE VOTES CAST IN ITS FAVOR
A Majority Of the Republican Members Of the Senate
Could Not Be Whipped Into Line by the Lobby
lists Of the Mexican.

CALL HEADQUARTERS. SACRA-
MENTO, March S.-Dickinson's bill to
provide for the reorganization of the
Harbor Commission of San Francisco
has. been laid to rest.
It was refused passage by vote Of
% against 9 in its favor, and among
its strongest opponents were a ma
jority of the Republican members of
the Senate. The fight was as bitter
a one as the Senate generally allows
itself to indulge in, and while the result
showed no party line, yet in the debate
1t was sharply drawn. 1t resulted in
a combination between the Grant men
and others and the Democrats in what
looked like a manifesto to the Gov
ernor that he would get no more pa
tronage TO use in the interest of the
Senatorial aspirations of the man from
Mexico.
1t was as severe q defeat for Burns
as was the vote on the poolselling bill
taken yesterday, and it was not made
lighter by the fact that among the Op-
ponents Of the bill were two of his own
men. Lobbying did no good and only
served to make the fight more bitter,
and on the question of patronage he
measure was fought and lost. In the
debate after it had been fairly started
there was no attempt made TO conceal
the real intent of the bill, and nnally
when Shortridge announced that all the
bill meant to him was the removal Oh
Budd from the attOrneyship it was so
evident he had hit the purpose OF the
measure that the Senate and lobby
joined in the laugh that went up.
When all the oratOry had been eX-
hauSted the supporters began 10 nedge.
They had not expected so herce and de-
termined an opposition, and so More
house moved to postpone action on the
bill until Friday.
Leavitt was quick to see the way the
wind was blowing, and he rose to say
he would like to take some more time
to consider the measure before he
voted upon it, an anxiety for informa-
ton that met some derision.
MOrehOuSe insisted on his motion on
the ground that there was no need TO
hurry the matter, and besides he would
like a full House present to consider
the bill. There was at the time thirty
FIVE out of the thirty-nine Senators
present, a number seldom exceeded in
any of the sessions, but Morehouse
thought there ought to be more and
repeated his motion.
Davis suggested if that was all he
wished the bill to go over for he might
just dS Neu let II go 10 vote, anu
should ii be defeated he could move for
a reconsideration, but that was not
what MOrehouse wanted But his mo-
ton delayed matters only a few min
utes, and then the bill was forced to a
vote and to defeat
Dickinson was the first to speak on
the measure. He declared the bill was
not formed for political reasons nor on
political lines and he pointed to that
section which continues in office the two
Democrats whose terms have not ex-
pired in support of his statement. He
said when an institution collects and
pays out over $50 900 a month it should
be put in position to do so with no loss
to the State and no injury to the bUsi-
ness of the harbor and he thought the
present commission had shown it was
incapable or unwilling to properly per
form it's duties. He referred to the
message of Governor Budd in which he
recommended an increase in the COM
mission and he said that to provide foI
the better handling of the business it
was deemed better to add two more to
the governing body.
Coming back to the work of the pres
ent commission, he referred to the pur-
chasing department that requires an
expenditure of $4,000 in the purchase OF
goods to the value of $22 600; to the har-
Dor police, which he said were useless
and had been. so characterized by one
of the members of the commission re-
sponsible for them he referred, too, to
the Watchmen, who, he said, were also
of no use, for every vessel had its OWr
watchmen. He charged that the pres
ent commissioners were doing nothing
toward cutting down expenses and were
letting harbor affairs drift as they had
been drifting in the same old expensive
way for years. Could the bill only be
passed he saw a vision of retrenchment
and reform; of officials all Of whom had
duties enough to keep them busy; Of
useless employees hunting for other jobs
and everything running like we'll
made watch.
Boyce took a different view OF the
case and declared himself as opposed
to the bill. He said the conditions OF
harbor affairs in San Francisco was
enough to put every decent citizen tc
the blush, but Dickinson's bill was not
the remedy. Tt would be no relief, he
said, to add two more to the hungry
leaders who had already made the in
stItution a shame; would only make
matters worse than they are, and he
was opposed to the bill, for he knew
there were other and better methods
of correcting the evils that exist.
When 1t came to Morehouse he made
q regular old-fashioned, cheer-inspirine
campaign speech to which no one is
ever expected to listen unless he be OF
the same political faith as the speaker
and which is a matter of course when
ever a machine candidate gets up tc
speak to the boys. '"To the victors be.
long the spoils" was his text and ir
expounding it he raped civil service
and liberation in politics as hard as his
verbal club would allow. He was in
favor of the bill, he said, and If he had
his way he would turn out every Demo
crat in the harbor service as soon as il
was put in force.
They had done it to the Republicans
he cried, and the Republicans should
do it to them. ''I want to see the
political patronage of this State wher
the State is under Republican admin
istration In the hands of Republicans. .
the excited Senator calculated. "and
then when the Democrats get control
let them fire us"
AS no one had said anything about
political patronage and Dickinson had
been careful to keep his argument in
favor of the bill down to the manage
rnent of the present commission. More
houses remarks were a trifie irrele-
want, but then every one knew where
the little black man had climbed