Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-05-05
QUICK RECOVERY
FROM SEVERE BLOW
San Francisco Now Sitting up
And Taking Particular
Notice.
MASKS ARE PULLED ASIDE.
Merchants Discover How They Have
Been Defrauded and Day OF Use
fulness OF Dishonest Is Over.

In this era Of rapid fire communica-
ton and instantaneous comprehen-
sions resulting from 1t, II days have
been enough for San Francisco to re-
cover from the blow Of seeing her
material wealth shaken down at her
feet. and then burned to ashes Now
she Is sitting up among the expensive
ash heaps, and taking notice of what
It was hit her,
HEROES AND GRAFTERs.
From the whispers OF today the out
spoken words OF tomorrow Will prob
ably follow, and after that scandals
or a vociferous character will arise III
shouting multitude to make some men
heroes and take down a record of their
deeds to remain forever, and to wreck
the fair names OF other men, as the
great shake leveled the works they
had wrought not in n spirit of hon
esty but of graft
Old maXlms sprang into sudden life
on the coast during the past rev
weeks. They sing wait Till the Clouds
Roll BY, Nellie" I'm many a refuge
tent. and now the maxim on the public
lip Is Honesty f. the best policy"
FRAUD EXPOSED.
To illustrate II, the big merchant
who paid his money for cement found
dations and discovered when the walls
shook down. that he had secured only
mud, is telling about IT, and giving the
name of the builder. Public opinion
Is consequently strongly on the recoil
against such men. and the day of their
usefulness is over forever
THE BIGGEST SCANDAL,
The biggest scandal Of all Is in the
city hall The place cost 100000
and the people thought It would stand
among the most firm Instead II head
ed the list of those that toppled. and
it's condition was SO utterly bad, as
compared with that of other preten-
tious buildings. that II has occasionod
general comment Then on close in
spection this comment has turned to
other more forceful forms OF express
sion. Tho handsome stone walls,
where they had broken, poured out a
center of brick bats. and loose mortar,
like saw dust would pour out of a
broken doll. The mortar crumbled
when picked up IN the hand, and the
bricks fell apart easily. Graft was
here laid bare, and the fair name Of
builders. commissioners, and inspec-
tors fell In the heap with the ruin, A
full life sized scandal In brewing over
the revelations Of the wreck at the
city hail. and all II is waiting for to
break before public attention is the
subsistence Of other more immediate
| interests.
A BLACKENED CHARACTER.
The Spring Valley Water company is
| another concern that energies from the
| RUNS with blackened character. II Is
| declared that II the trusts had not
| screwed the people to the last turn Of
| the wrench, with their new found pow
er of price control, there would not he
| the national unrest in America, that
sometimes portends revolution. Certain
| IL is that out Of the action of the Spring
Valley company is coming tremen-
dous demand for municipal ownership
of the San Francisco water supply.
Outside In the world the people take
the statement that the earthquake
wrecked the water mains. and thus cut
off the wafer. At San Francisco they
are looking closely and know that Il
was not so much the breaking of occa-
the Spring Valley company sold its
water to the last gallon of It's capacity,
and that Its reserve supplies, and reser-
voirs were all empty when the quake
came. Then the water was shut off, to
fill these up, that the condition might
remain a secret, and tho people found
that collectively they had no recourse
but to wait the pleasure of a corpora
ton, In securing water, when II was the
most needed thing in the world.
GREATER POWER STEPS IN.
Now they are thinking OF another
itom. For years people without bonds
tying them to interests" have fought
in San Francisco for different kind of
water supply A year ago n proposition
was made before the city fathers, for
the erection of big Salt Water reser-
voirs on Telegraph Hill Twin Peaks,
Mob HILL and Russian hill These
were TO be filled for use against fires,
and for street spruking with water
pumped from the sea. The Spring Val
Icy company, which has always tied
close TO the dominant palltlcal machine,
was able to override the supporters OF
the reservoir plan, and now "A greater
power than either the water company,
with dollars 10 gain by defeating tho
plan, and the political machine which
sold itself to the company, has stepped
in 10 make municipal ownership Of wa
ter a certainty IN the new city. NUM-
cIpal ownership Of the things the city
cried for In the crisis, and could not
reach. because Of relief committees, the
mayor, and the citizens had no control
over them, is being strongly advocated
now, and the general movement In that