Los Angeles herald., 1906-10-28

SAN FRANCISCO, oct 2O,-This
city seems now to be diving headlong
into a winter of woe. The thug and
criminal elements are becoming bolder
each day. Murders, assaults and hold
ups have become so common that local
papers are compelled to summarize
them on their front pages. There will
be q mass meeting of citizens and mer-
chants today to organize n committee
of public safety. The police force is
disorganized and corrupt, and even
police court judges are charged with
both accepting bribes and fearing to
punish wrongdoers
Business is suffering greatly from
what Is called "the gaspipe reign of
terror" for visitors and the usual army
of shoppers from the suburban districts
have not the tenerlty to cross the bay
and journey through the stores, where
there have been so many daylight muir
ders and attacks.
Wherever your affairs lead you about
the populous shores of San francisco
bay, you will hear the criminal invasion
of the Golden Gate discussed. 1t is
said by wholesale hardware dealers
and agents for manufacturers of fire.
arms that more than 5000 revolvers
| have been sold within the past ten
days. Then, as an evidence of the peo-
ple's alarm. every safe deposit vault in
San Francisco and Oakland has been
engaged, the rush to these repositories
being comparatively recent.
Every board or organization that is
prominent in civic and commercial af-
fairs has elected to join in a general Or
ganlzation for public safety. These are
some of the organizations that have
been aroused by what they term ''the
citys peril: Chamber of commerce,
Merchants association, Merchants ex-
change, Commonwealth club, board of
trade, state board of trade, produce eX-
change, Bankers association, Builders
exchange, Builders association, Build
ing Trades council, Federated Trades.
San Francisco Church federation, Press
club, Potrero Commercial and Manu-
facturers' association, and the Con-
tractors alliance.
Police Department Corrupt
The members of these different bodies
and the citizens at large are of one
mind that the police department is cor
rupt and hopelessly inefficient. They
are also agreed that San Francisco
never had a more brazenly dishonest
city administration. In formulating the
plan for the mass meeting of citizens
that will be held today, w. j. Barrett,
manager of the Wright wire works,
said, taking as his theme "the clty's
desperate SITUATION
THAT San Francisco is going TO be
rebuilt is a matter beyond any doubt
whatever. But there are conditions
here, as there have been before and as
there may have been in other cities,
which must be met and met courage
ously. There has been displayed q great
deal of apathy on the part of business
men in regard to taking hand and
righting these conditions. But the time
has come for moral cowardice to be
relegated to the background
The present inefficiency of the police
department is but an incident of the
wrongdOing Of which our people are
victims, and Is a necessary result of the
state of affairs. Where the authorities
are corrupt you must look for all sorts
of lawlessness. The movement which
we propose must embrace in its scope
much broader things than the soaring
away of crooks and thugs. That is
something which will be incident upon
the correction of the conditions which
make such outlawry possible"
Resolutions to Check Vice
Resolutions were offered at the meet
ing of the representatives of the vari-
Gus organizations of merchants and
property owners, which showed the agi-
tated mind of the general community
over the widespread municipal corrup-
ton and unchecked vice and thuggery.
They contained these paragraphs:
Resolved, That one week from today
there shall be formed in this city a
committee of public security to be
made up of five representatives from
each of the following organizations,
said representatives to be appointed by
said organizations, upon signifying
their willingness and determination to
devote sufficient time to the work to be
(The organizations re-
ferred to were mentioned above.)
Resolved, That violence OF any kind
is to be condemned, public officials are
to be taught that they are in office to
carry out the wishes and best interests
of our citizens, and not their own de-
sires. One-man- horsepower in our pub
lie affairs is to be eradicated and de-
stroyed. Corrupt measures must be
and those calculated to bene-
fit our city and it's commerce must be