The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1907-12-03
CALHOUN'S GRAB
Of PACIFIC AVE.
QUICKLY FOILED
Tries to Extend Blanket
of Emergency" and
Ruin Street
{ SUPERVISORS MOVE
Resolutions to Probe the
High Handed Attempt
Are Passed
RESIDENTS PROTEST
Friends of Indicted Head of
Company Deem Him
Ungrateful
RESIDENTS PROTEST

Patrick Calhoun and the United
Railroads were foiled yesterday in ar
attempt to grab and dishgure Pacific
avenue west of Polk street with crude
trolley poles and wires.
Property owners and members oi
the board of supervisors, who were
jealously guarding the beauty of tn,
thoroughfsre from the tactics of ths
streetcar combine, discovered that tn.
company had already begun to plan
poles and string span wires in tn.
block from Polk street to Van Mes:
avenue and were about to place poles
between the boulevard and Franklin
street. The board of supervisors was
notified OF the trespass just before ad-
journment yesterday and passed a
resolution stopping the United Rail-
roads work. Mayor Taylor sent word
to Chief OF Police Biggy of the at
tempted grab and Biggy had a special
police detail in the street to guard
against any night attack which the
company might have contemplated.
The United Railroads was stealing
the streea under cover Of a permit Sc
cured from the city when the corpora
ton bribed the supervisors and Ruef
and schmitz with 100000. Then
shortly after the fire. a blanket" or
. dinance was passed giving the. .compan,
power to transform its cable roads int
overhead trolley systems as an emer.
Eency measure. The Calhoun corpora.
tion sought TO make the emergency
extend 20 months. but the supervisor.
ordered otherwise and stopped the
work, pending a thorough investiga-
tion.
Today Pacific avenue property own.
ers. headed by ]. Goldberg, 1882 PaciA,
avenue; H. T. Lally. 1916 Pacific avenue
and others. will petition the supervisors
TO rescind the provisions Of the blanke
amendment, as It would affect Pacif,
avenue, and TO stop the company from
stringing trolley wires on the street
The property owners state that the,
would have no objection to the install
lation Of an underground conduit troll
ley system. They contend further
that the service on the jackson stree
cable line can be made adequate U
meet the demands of Pacific avenue ant
contiguous territory.
Supervisor Stafford brought the oues
tion OF the United Railroads grab be.
fore the board meeting yesterday. II,
declared that poles had been placed Of
were in position to be placed for nearl.
three blocks in Pacific street and tina
material had been delivered to equiJ
eight blocks. Stafford said that he haS
Investigated to see by what right thu
company was placing its wires and hao
first been told that it was acting unde,
a permit from the department of elec
tricity, an assumption which Superin
tendent Hewitt was quick to disprove
The board learned that the United
Railroads was presuming on the blan-
ket ordinance Of 1906 Mayor Taylo,
and. Supervisors Sullivan and Murphy
questioned the right of the company tc
scr under that notorious measure and
held that the emergency clause OF
the ordinance would not apply now.
A resolution was adopted ordering
tho United Railroads to discontinue
:ae work OK erecting poles pending az
investigation.
The Investigation will be conducted
by the judiciary committee OF the su.
peIvisors.
il the fight to keep Pacific avenue
clear OF trolley wires have been ar
raved several men who have been con.
Spicuous champions OF Patrick Cal
houn in his troubles over the granc
5Ery indictments. and they think It un-
kind and ungrateful OF him to turr
against them now and spoil their stree
with a car system that VIII depreciats
values Of property and destroy tn,
beauty OF the residential vistas.
Thornwell Mutually. assistant to tn
president OF the United Railroads, i
either refused the condolences of hi
chief or else believes that the end o
the corporation can best be attained b,
secrecy. He said last night that III
knew nothing OF the matter. that h
did not know IL the company had be
gun work in Pacific avenue or If it in
tended to do so. He did not know, h
said, what had been done, what was be
ing done. or what was 20 be done. H
did not deny that he knew where th'
avenue was located.