Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-05-20
The TOWN WAS DIFFERENT
Characteristics Which Made San Francisco
Unique Among Cities.
LOCAL PRIDE A CONSPICUOUS FEATURE
"GIorious Climate" EnIarRed Capacity
for Driuk-COrmOpoIita Crowds
Conditions Not Likely to
he Restored.


had a certain difficulty in picturing the
place to his eastern friends who hadn't
been there lie generally began and ended
by saying:
We'll San Francisco is just a town
hats different, that's all-its different
II his stay in san Francisco was Of shorl
duration he would probably continue to
.efer to the town upon his return as
Frisco but fasteners who remained IN
san Francisco for any length OF time soon
got out Of the way OF calling it Frisco.
They found themselves snubbed or
sharply corrected every time they spoke of
san Francisco az Frisco The San Fran
ciscans were always great sticklers for the
fun name OF their town. 1t was probably
pure hobby. for they must have known
that nobody could ever have confused the
Frisco that the fasteners used for San
Francisco with the unimportant little town
really named Frisco.
The easterner making his first visit
. would say TO his hospitable San Francisco
ofccrone after a glance around the town:
.Icsia great place sure. sure enough, this
Frisco"
His San Francisco companion would in
stsntly freeze.
Frisco he would say. What do you
mean by Frisco? What do you"
cling friend" the San Francisco man would
say. you get a map or a postal guide
and you'll find out where Frisco is. This
Is San Francisco.
Flattery for San Francisco could not be
laid on too thicky by the visitor; and
this, while it may have seemed curious to
outsiders was really great thing for San
Francisco. and It largely accounted for the
making Of the splendid city. Every San
Franciscan was always. at home and
abroad and above everything else,
booster and plugger for his city.
JoIIyinE Fasteners.
The San Franciscans have always re-
ferred to everybody living on this side OF
the Sierras as snow shovellers and ice
diggers, and they have great fun out of
these phrases. They mean by these terms
that the folks living this side of the
coast range OF mountains have to contend
with hard. bitter and wholly impossible
winters while they, the San Franciscans,
get about the same quality of climate the
year around. except for the rains.
The GLORIOUS climate of California" never
really meant San Francisco at all. II is a
very rare day, summer or winter, in San
Francisco that does not seem chilly and
penetrating to the fastener established
there.
AZ was only ABOUT TWO years ago lhdl
cents became a part of the fractional cur
rency in use In San Francisco, and even
when they were introduced they did not
catch on very we'll, in spite of the fact
I that, taking everything into consideration,
san Francisco was perhaps the cheapest
/ city in the United States in the matter of
living expenses. There was great general
. objection in San Francisco to the intro
duction OF coppers at all. the San Fran
ciscans rather enjoying the distinction Of
being the one great city of the country
that scorned the use of cents.
Bits" as d phrase, originated in San
Francisco. They never call a quarter
a quarter out there. A quarter is two bite.
a half four bits and anything costing 70
cents Is said TO be worth six bits.
Some San Franciscans even go the length
OF refusing TO employ the word dollar,
and call the dollar eight bits There is a
fne old pirstical origin to the bits business.
Eight bits is a lineal descendant of the
pirates piece Of eight.
Capacity for Drink.
Fasteners visiting San Francisco gem
orally found that they could stand far
more strons drink in that climate than they
could In their own. The theory as to this
phenomenon formed by some of those who
experienced It is that drinking in San
Francisco is a good deal like drinking on
board ship at sea and most men can
stand = great deal more liquor on a sea
voyage than they can ashore.
Moderate drinkers back this way rarely
begin their drinking until after luncheon
anyhow but first drink time in San Fran
slco was rarely more than. an hour after
breakfast II indeed 1t did not precede the
matutinal meal by the length of time elaps-
ing between mans getting out OF bed and
his appearance at the breakfast table
Naval officers, who have always loved Sar
Francisco, found out many years ago that
the old scheme of getting engaging civiliani
at the ward room table and moisteninG
them up to the point OF making them inca
pable, rarely or never worked when more OF
less seasoned San Franciscans were th'
guests
Globe trotting Englishmen Of immens,
capacity in wassail have confessed them
selves clearly outcassed when they've gon'
up against the big drinking doings in Sar
Francisco Before the Bohemian club as
e sumed a certain modern sedateness the,
q used to keep a record there Of famous folk
D.. who had been put under the table at tn
club and the names OF some of the mos
5 accomplished English topers that eve
visited the slope appeared on that old list
Much drunkenness to be seen in tn
San Francisco saloons. OF all grades. In
wine makers OF California were never abb
TO get the San Francscans TO use AZ
steady tipple the fine, sound. fruity an
wholesome wines that they produced. tn
hard stun or beer remained tho bevera GO
OF the drinking San Franciscans through al
Of the educational campaign of the vitcul
ttlrists who tried 20 show how and why tn
habit Of drinking sound still wines woul
be the greatest thing in the world "a
drinkers.
The sporty Crowd.
san Francisco has been prize hghtin
mad for a great many years. and in a grea
many Of the back rooms OF the saloon
punching bags were 10 be found whe
the slsmbang punching bag and the plan
and the vocal efforts OF the piano SUI
FOUNDERS we've all going at once in n
back room OF the saloon the combinatio
OF sounds was something to be remen
bered as wholly characteristic of San Frar
cisco.
Women. many Of them strangely prett
ana young and fresh looking were to