The San Francisco call., 1906-12-18
MAY ABOLISH THE
HARBOR BOARD
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Hill ~ VII ~ OBbtb1
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of the port may be extended without
delay for the immediate needs of ship
ping the delegates waXed warm as
various reports made more manifest
the inefficiency and favoritism ex-
hibited by the present and past boards
of harbor commissioners. AS result
condemnation flowed first, and then,
out of it, the determination to annihi-
late the system and install in it's place
a modern business administration took
form and eliminated in the appoint
ment of Louis Rosenfeld, T. c. Fried
lander and c. L. Tilden as legislative
committee to devise measures by
which the purposes of the meeting may
be placed in proper manner before the
Legislature. In the meanwhile Captain
Matson, Captain Tibbetts and James
McNab, acting as a committee, will
survey the water front and report as
to unjust and unbusinesslike allot-
ments of space that have been awarded
by the Harbor Commission, following
the same with presentation of the
facts to the board and thesrequest that
conditions be remedied. That wild
political fight will be the outcome of
these acts of the committee is a fore
gone conclusion. but when the inter-
ests that are behind the movement are
considered the belief arises that the
beginning of the end of the antiquated
system that controls the front is at
hand.
STORM IS PRECIPITATED
calm discussion as to the needs of
the water front was proceeding and the
delegates were weighing suggestions
as to whether the seawall should be
improved, North Beach lined with
wharves and protected by break
water. or whether the work should be
done as an extension of the Mail dock,
when the patience of James McNab
gave way and the storm broke. AS
the purpose of the meeting was to Sc
cure such improvements from the
Board of Harbor Commissioners as
possible one or more of the timid dele
gates tried to calm the turbulent lam
guage, but without avail. and before
adjournment came every delegate that
wanted to had unbosomed himself.
I'VE have had better boards than the
one in control" said McNab, vehe-
mently, and 1 think we would best
secure the services of Howard Holmes,
the engineer, to tell us what we want
before we go to the board to ask for
it. If we went before that board with
out some definite plan in view, it
would do as 1t has always done in the
past and put us off with generalities
And the board, even as it is. is badly
handicapped with a poor staff. There
money enough on hand now to COM
plete the wharf from lombard street
to the seawall, but nothing is being
done. Then some of the best sheds
on the water front are given over to
the lumber interests and business that
might just as well be conducted on
cover, with the result that there is not
sufficient room for the handling of per-
ishable goods The coal interests also
enjoy monopoly of some Of the best
wharves in the city, particularly those
at Vallejo and Howard streets. Other
lumber men are also using wharves
for storage purposes and permit lum-
Der to remain on them until it is gray
from age saving from 81 to SO a
thousand in handling it,
COMMITTEE is NAMED
Edgar Painter tried to stem the tide
he saw was beginning to flow by
suggesting that Holmes had already
prepared a report on the needs of the
water front and that his retention was
unnecessary. He was interrupted by a
motion that a committee of three be-
appointed to go along the water front
to determine what injustice was being
done the general shippers through the
allotment of space complained of by
McNab. The motion carried and the
committee was named as given above.
Then c. L. Tilden sailed into the
Harbor Commission. IF the State will
not put good man there TO see that
justice is done every one let us do it,"
he said. Let us have man at every
meeting of the board, that when appli-
cations for space are made we may
make protest if necessary"
Attention was diverted from Til
denis suggestion by the frank an
nouncement of I. c. Friedlander that
1t was high time politics on the water
front was killed. He moved that a
committee of three be appointed to de-
wise scheme Of legislation that would
end the existence of the present system
and install in it's place one in keeping
with modern business methods.
THE water front should be handled
by a non-p partisan commission of at
least FIVE" he said, ito be appointed
from among the most prominent busi-|
ness men of San Francisco and no two
of them representing the same interest
Then. operating under them, some man
of high executive ability should be
named to have the active direction OF
the affairs of the front"
."Yes, and / am in favor of paying
that man from $4,000 to $4,000 a
year" added Tilden. For a salary of
that proportion we could secure a man
of ability
SYSTEM is ANTIQUATED
"Harbor Commissioner Spear himself
admits that the present system is an
tiuuated and a new method should be
devised said Chairman Swayne.
Tilden seconded Friedlander's mo-
tion for. the appointment of a 1egis-
that he was going to run his place in