The San Francisco call., 1899-01-29

rsen at that first meeting. They were
very enthusiastic and hopeful But II
was enthusiasm tempered by clear
grained common sense, and hope that
could not be crushed out by repeated
failure.
Bit by bit they piled up a founoa-
+ion upon which the association coulo
resi- secure. At the beginning they
edonted certain cardinal principles.
They determined first that party poll
tics should be strictly excluded from
Its proceedings. The influence or the
association must be constantly exerted
in measures of public interest put no
mart must be taken in party pohtlcs or
political patronage.
The Merchants Association must no7
resort TO personal abuse or vitupera'
ton.
whenever possible, it must cooperate
with public officials in carrying out all
C,rdinances and laws for the comfort.
safety. health and prosperity OF the
community.
Its relations with the press must ba
of tho most cordial and candid nature.
In i+e reforms it must not aim far
above or far below the mark. The worst
afhictions of municipalities are oroln-
arv ones. and should be hanoleu anu
treated in an ordinary manner
Before attempting any change OF lIl-
movement the association must ascer.
tain carefully whether the proposed
work is feasible and the conteInp4dteu
plan of action practicable.
These cardinal principles the mem
bers felt would ultimately mean sue
The wfseacres said, Pooh! Reform
and failure walk hand in hand IN gan
Francisco" ... o,,15-,+
he nooh-poohed out Of existence. AT the
end of the first year 214 members had
stoned the ron Ouring the second
vear the nell crship increased TO 4Uo
business firms. At the end or the lnlro
wear S17 firms were recorded as lesu-
lar members. The fourth anniversary
of the association was celebrated WIN
o membership of 953, and to-day the
Merchants Association comprises over
1000 regular and active members.
This means that the association COL
1ects in dues $1,000 a month. Their &C
counts balant- to the fraction OF
cent .,,.
But it is neither this fact nor their
long membership roll which has com
Ta1ded the respect and gratitude Of
the entire community.
It is because they do necessary
things. not dream them all day long;
They first earned their spurs by
sweeping the streets of San FRANCISCO.
And they did it so we'll that even the
II Told Won so" of the wiseacres did not
drown the chorus of thanks that cen
oed everywhere.
our dirty, dusty streets, badly swept
by contract. without system or oroer,
were a source of caricature ABROAD anu
discomfort at home
"a 4 Tay-T1 inc n
itial effort to correct this glaring EVIL.
Nv offering an extremely low bid the
Snnervisors awarded the contract TO
+he Merchants Association. Ihe Sou'-
600 appropriated annually for cleaning
the streets proved inadequate to DO the
work properly and thoroughly.
The Merchants Association. there
fore. raised $4,000 by voluntary sub
scriptions from merchants and prop
ertv owners. This sum, added to the
ci+v appropriation, enabled the assocla-
+ion to execute the contract success
fully during a period of eight months.
This practical experiment proved so
satisfactory that plans ana speclIlca-
+ions for perpetuating the system were
carefully prepared and submitted TO the
citv authorities. The Board of Super
visors approved the system, and mas
repeatedly adopted it. To-day the
streets of San Francisco are swept ana
cleaned according to these speclnca-
+ions. and under the constant superVi-
sion of the association. To venture
forth into the streets is no longer
plunge into dust bath.
This feat placed the association In a
determined niche in the body polite.
1t proved that this organization, COM
posed almost entirely OF members OF
business firms, could not De overlooked.
Its members employ In the aggregate at
least Il, 900 persons and represent about
one-half the assessed property in this
city Comparatively speaking the
Merchants Association is now numeri-
cally stronger than any other CONNER
cial organization in the United states.
Having proved their power for pubic
good they did not rest on their laurels.
They next aimed timely and we'll
directed blow at the cobblestones. The
street paVements have long been
municipal nuisance. We never mention
them, even in whispers, outside of our
boundaries A loyal San Franciscan
may casually hint at an occasional fog,
but to breathe Of our antediluvian
pavements taboos him as a traitor.
All the sweeping in the world cannot
make the cobblestones aught but an
eyesore to the artistic and an irritant to
corns.
Under the law the city must keep ac-
cepted streets only in needed repair.
ANY requirement. IluSl pS pTONlQSQ ny
the adjacent property owners. The
Merchants Association, by strenuous
efforts, finally succeeded in securing
sufficient voluntary subscriptions from
property owners to repave some Of the
principal blocks Of the city.
The smooth modern pavement that
now makes Market street thorough
fare worthy of progressive city is due
entirely to the efforts of the Merchants
Association.
The next nuisance upon which the
association frowned was municipal
moonlight. Turning out the city lights
on calendar moonlight benefited no one
save the footpad. AS the city was
bound to this system by two years
contract nothing could be done speedily
to make an official change.
Fully realizing the benefit Of a mod
ern method of public lighting, the
Merchants Association resolved to give
San Francisco another object lesson.
Voluntary subscriptions therefore were
again solicited for the placing of arc
lights upon a few principal business
streets.
The idea at once became contagious
and other streets asked the privilege of
Joining the movement. Subscriptions
amounting to $4,000 were quickly
signed and 228 powerful electric arc