Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1907-08-15
BAD AS EARTHQUAKE
SAN FRANcISCO'S INTERNAL
STRIFE RENDS CITY.
The Rivalry of SprecixeIs and CAL
houn Has Divided the Town Into
Battle Has Ragged.
San Francisco correspondence

San Francisco correspondence
Time alone will reveal the full truth
Of the extraordinary intrigue and war
fare, class feud and personal vendetta,
that involve the graft investigation in
San Francisco and that have filled this
city's cup of bitterness and strife-a
more disastrous visitation, indeed, than
that of earthquake and fire.
San Francisco, the faireSt and great
est of cities on the Pacific coast, in
comparably favored by natural advan-
tage with illimitable resources behind
her, and the trade of the Orient facing
her, destined to be one of the greatest
ports in the world, has been vexed and
torn more by internal strife and dis
order than by the calamity which start
ed at 3 rs o'clock Wednesday morning,
April Is, 1906, shaking her foundations.
and by the consequent fires devastating
four square miles and destroying five
hundred millions worth of property.
In San Francisco today the fight is
not merely the old one of capital
SN5AAAiSS lSlpOI, although luIlJ ID Sllll
ing waged fiercefy and without quarter,
but the opposing forces of two captains
OF industry, two of the heaviest CAPT
talists in California, are drawn in a
struggle to the death. For some months
the lines of battle have been clearly
drawn, and while, outside of San Fran
cisco, public attention has been con-
centrated upon the dethronement of
Eugene Schmitz, thrice mayor of San
Francisco, and the surrender of his
partner and manipulation, Abe Reuf,
here the feud between Patrick Calhoun,
president of the United Railroads, and
Rudolph Sprecl1els, the largest property
holder in San Francisco, has been most
closely watched.
Patrick Calhoun, who is a grandson
Of John c. Calhoun, and is a man of
great ability, impressive force, and who
has built UP a great fortune, controls
street railroads in Pittsburg, as we'll as
in San Francisco. Five years ago, the
United Railroads, in which Mr.. Cal
hOun is the heaviest stakeholder, alb
sorbed most Of the street railroads in
San Francisco, and set about vast i'm
provements of the system. Shortly be-
fore the disaster of April 1906, the
United Railroads commenced the cleo
ItriciZatiOn of its system. After a long
and embittered controversy, in which
Calhoun and Spreckels first Joined is
sue, Mr.. Calhoun decided on adopting
the overhead trolley system. Spreckels
and his colleagues, of whom the chief
was eX-Mayor James D. Phelan, had
insisted that the United Railroads
adopt the underground conduit system.
For year prior to the fire there had
been much discussion in regard to the
comparative merits of the cable, the
overhead trolley, and the conduit sys-
TEN.
The Merchants Association employed
William Barclay Parsons, of New
York, whose conclusion was positive
that the best way of meeting the trans
portation problems of San Francisco
was to convert the cable roads into the
overhead trolley. His report was Wig
orously assailed by the Spreckels group
of theorists, who, disappointed in their
nicipal Street Railway Company, with
$14000,000 of capital stock. IncorpOr-
alton papers were filed the day before
the great dsaster-and the war was
on.
The earthquake and the fire occa-
stoned the temporary postponement of
the Spreckels-Phelan street railroad
plans, but Immediately afterward they
were found concentrating their efforts
on attacking and heckling the United
Railroads and it's president. Rudolph
Spreckels carried his opposition so far
that in the famous Committee of Fifty,
which took charge of the city's affairs
after the fire, he objected to the United
Railroads resuming car service, advanc-
ing the fanciful view that the operation
of the cars might cause further confia-
grafton. Despite the dire need of the
suffering people, the service was
stopped for several days, and the gen
eral manager of the United Railroads
was threatened with arrest The Uni
ted Railroads agreed to carry the peo-
pie free Of charge. This permission
was finally granted, but again Mr..
Spreckels intervenea, claiming that the
free Transportation caused such over
crowding of the cars that business men,
willing enough to pay their fares, could
not find accommodation.
Thus the fight progressed, until final
~ there came the graft investigation,
in the course of which SpreckelS man
aged to have Calhoun indicted q the
charge of bribing officials with 100000.
Calhoun and his colleagues proclaim
their innocence of the charge of bribery
and express their willingness to meet
their enemies At present their cases
are being delayed by other trials. The
people of San Francisco are now fairly
divided into two camps-comprising the
adherents of Spreckels and the forces
of Calhoun. The battle will be at its
height just before the November cleo
tons.