The San Francisco call., 1905-01-04
FUNDS FOR ORPHANS
AND CHILDREN WHO
NEED STATE AID


One Of the largest, and at the same
time most benefcent, expenditures OF
our State Government is that for the
partial support Of orphans. half or
phans and abandoned children. Want
ing official machinery for thorough
State administration Of this fund, it
has been necessary mainly to depend
for its proper distribution upon the
good offices Of the orphanages and
boards of supervisors through whose
hands 1t passes. l have every reason
to believe that this trust is almost al
ways conscientiously and efficiently
executed: and yet this form OF admin
istration does afford some opportunity
for persons actuated by the spirit of
mendicancy to impose upon the State
unnecessary burdens.
In dealing with this class of claims
renewed efforts have been made, and
are making, to eliminate from the roll
all claims which represent an attempt
to impose upon the public generosity,
and 1 am glad to be able to say that
substantial success Is being attained
in this direction. For the fifty-fifth
fiscal year the expenditures under this
head were $3S,000 less than for the
the results Of the Investigations made,
and new methods employed, by the late
Walter S. Melick, Secretary of the
State Board Of Examiners, and to him
the credit primarily belongs.
I am glad to say that, in most of the
orphanages supported in part by this
fund, attention is given to the element
ary training in useful employments OF
the children, and / suggest to the Leg
tc1 10 hof hn all m q
with the appropriations a provision re-
quiring all institutions drawing from
this fund to give to children of suf-
ficient age to receive it some form of
useful industrial or manual training,
the standard of instruction to be made
satisfactory to the State Board Of Ex-
aminers.
The report of the State Board of
Health shows that the health of the
commonwealth has, during the year just
closed. If not during te whole Of the
year preceding, been quite free from
Injurious distempers and malignant
contagion. I take this occasion to call
to the minds of legislators the urgent
need for affording to the State Board
such added facilities for work as ii
may require.
/ have also to congratulate the State
of California upon the cordial and con-
State and municipal boards Of health
and the public health and marine hos
pital service Of the United States and
the boards of health of the several
States of our Union. There was a time
when California stood in imminent
peril Of being universally quarantined
against because of the existence of a
few sporadic cases of Asiatic plague.
Rigid remedial measures have been in
stituted, confidence has been re-estab-
lished and the business of the common
wealth has been allowed to proceed un-
hampered. The health Of the people
within the State and without was in
nowise impaired by reason of an Incl
dent which, inasmuch as California
ports are dealing constantly, directly
and increasingly with Asiatic ports,
backs inseparable from commercial and
maritime pursuits. The best safeguard
our people can have against serious
consequences resulting therefrom Is to
maintain fully equipped system for
the preservation of the public health
and for the dissemination among our
people Of reliable and timely informa-
ton.
During the preceding session Of the
series of bills intended to modify the
law to give railroads rights of way
through overflowed and other public
lands of the State. believed the bills
as passed did not sufficiently guard the
States interests and hence acted as
above stated, although at the time it
was urged on behalf of the measures
that as the law stands there Is no way
in which transportation company can
acquire the right to occupy overf1owed
State land within an Incorporated city,
or within three miles of it, to be used
for necessary wharves, piers and other
structures Some time afterward 1t
was reported that overfowed land be-
longing to the State of California in
Oakland harbor was being filled in and
that the title might be claimed by a
corporation which was understood to
be paying dredging contractor to de-
posit the soil on this land.
1 decided to ask the Attorney General
of the State for an opinion and I re-
uuested him to make II broad enough
to clear up most of the questions in
volvirg the States rights in and con-
troll over, water fronts. He was asked
to state by what means, II any, rail-
road corporation can acquire rights OF
way over property such as above de-
scribed, also, IL such rights can be ac-
quired, by what tenure the land will be
afterward held, besides other ques-
tions.s The object Of this request for
an opinion was to ascertain what the
law is, with view to the correction of
defects, or the supplying of omissions,
If either exist.
After some delay, due to the large
amount Of legal work which he is at all
times called upon 60 attend to, the At
torney General furnished me with an
opinion In which he treated the cues
tions asked as relating particularly to
the situation in Oakland harbor
In answering the question first raised
the Attorney General, after citing vari-
Gus authorities, said:
The result Of all this seems TO be that there
is no procedure laid down in the codes OF Cali
fornia by which a railroad corporation may ac-
ouire a right Of way for the location and
maintenance OF roadbeds tracks, wharves.
piers slips or terminal facilities over sub.
merged lands beyond the corporate limits OF
the city of Oakland. which limits are the ordi-
nary low tide line. and that the only method
left for such corporation to pursue Is to OBJ
tain special grant from the Legislature
yUET r. nITARnEn LAW