Omaha daily bee., 1906-10-21

refugees to whom credit had been ex-
tended. Much of this came from grateful
sufferers who had not even been asked to
sign a promise to pay.
Back TO the Gable Car.
The cable car, which so impressed Kip
ling when he visited San Francisco. once
more will move over the steep hills OF the
city. This has been announced by Thorn
well Mutually of the United railroads. The
officials of the United railroads have been
trying for some time to devise a way 10
get the cars over the steep hills of the city
by means of electricity. and have at last
given the idea up and have decided TO go
back to the cable cars on the worst hills.
On the Powell street hill and some of the
hills in the Western addition the cable will
be used to pull the cars over the steep
grades.
Numerous plans have been suggested to
do away with the cable car, but all of them
have proved impracticable. II has been
proposed to make great cut in the Pow
ell street hill and reduce the grades 30 that
the cars could ascend The cross lines
would in that case run over bridges and
vladucts would be built for the pedestrians.
This scheme has been given up and it has
been thought best to go back to the old
method.
1t is with the greatest reluctance that
the officials Of the United railroads have
decided to go back to the cable. as they
had hoped to have all the cars In the city
operated by means of electricity. The lines
that will be used for cable cars are in fair
condition and will not be rehablitatcd but
will be put in commission with the necesl
sary repairs, and the old cable cars again
will come into service.
Rebuilding Chinatown.
There will be no really new Chinatown.
That is a settled fact. All the plans
for the improvement of the section known
to old San Francisco as the real China
town have gone awry. There will be no
oriental city. That has been forgotten
long ago in the desire of the celestials to
get back to their old stamping ground.
Thirty nine Chinese own property
within the old section. They are the in
dividual owners, and, in addition, 1926 men
from the orient hold land leases on the
property In the quarter. All of these
are ready to build.
From the board of public works forty
three permits have been obtained, and
all for buildings that do not in any way
comply with plans laid out either for
the furtherance of the Burnham PROPOSE
ton or Tor the new CELESTIAL city. some
are shacks, some are two-story frame
buildings and some are of the class b
kind, but there is not class A building
even contemplated within the boundaries
Of the old Chinatown
But they are building nevertheless, and
have in addition formed their own fire
department and police protection. The
Chinese are not going to take any chance
on another confiagration i'm their COM
munity which they claim as their very
own because of real ownership.
The plans for the new Chinatown are
elaborate, inasmuch as many of the old
families are cooperating in the work of
upbuilding, and are entirely ignoring the
proposed plans for the people who would
try to make the quarter a model town.
Both the Lee and Wong families, and
they are the most influential in Chinatown.
intend to erect their joss houses on the
old sites. Waverly place has always been
their home and the plans for the richest
joss palaces on the Pacific coast in that
locality have had the sanction of the
governing bodies.