The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1907-08-13

SAN FRANClSCO, Aug. l3.-AI-
ter years of litigation, after foster
ing the idea through the earthquake
and fire, after protecting from the
greed of public officials and corpor-
atoms, San Francisco has at last
taken steps to build, own and op-
crate an electric conduct municipal
street railway, the first of its kind
to be conducted by any city in the
United States.
One Of the last official acts of the
boodling board of supervisors, rem
dered obedient by the flourishes of
the graft prosecutors "big stick"
was to appropriate $4,000 for the
purpose of remodeling the historic
old Geary street galloway into a
modern, fully equipped electric
railroad, supplied with motive pow
err through an underground conduit
instead of an overhead trolley.
Built in the early days of San
Francisco's history, before the cleo
trio trolley was introduced to the
transportation world, the Geary
street cable railroad has had a
checkered career. 1t was construct
ed originally by eastern capitalists
and under various arrangements en-
poyed flattering dividends until the
onslaught of the electric trolley
lines, which paralleled it on both
sides and took away much of its
patronage. Under the conditions,
coupled with the disinclination OF
purchasable board of city fathers
to daily with a public service cor.
poration which brought them no re-
turns, the franchise of the cable
line was allowed to expire in 1908
and was not renewed. The city
took nominal possession of the
road, but permitted the directors
to continue operating it under suf-
ferance to pay into the municipal
Golfers 5 per cent of the gross re-
ceipts each month.
San Francisco has unwittingly
adopted white elephant. The
forces of good government and
graft government at once locked
horns across the cable slot for con-
troll of the road. The civicly right
eous apparently scored the first vic
tory by forcing the board Of super
visors to appropriate $350,O0O for
reconstructing the line into an cleo
trio conduit system. This was late
| in 1905. Plans were drawn, bids,
received, the contract let, and ev-
erything was in readiness for the
| work to proceed when along came
the arthQuake of April IS, 1906, and
put an end to the preparations.
After the disaster the situation
materially changed. Franchises
were being freely exchanged for
large bundles of currency by the
city fathers. In spite of the fact
that the Geary street road was the
first to resume operations, hue
and cry was raised against the con-
duit system. Patrick Calhoun for
the United Railroads was bargain
ing with Mayor Eugene e. Schmitz
and Abraham Ruef for an overhead
trolley franchise, and with fine ltal-
ian hands the three were arraying
popular opposition to an under
ground system.
C. E. Loss, the contractor who
had undertaken to reconstruct the
Geary street road, experienced a
peculiar change of heart, and fin
ally threw up the job completely,
to return a few months later, sup
posedly in the interests of Calhoun,
with an offer to buy the line for an
overhead trolley system. Good citi-
zens protested, but Schmitz and his
grasping supervisors were heart
and soul in the control of the cor
porations, and as the last official
act Of 1906 declared in favor of the
overhead trolley.
Before their plans were COM
pleted, the street car strike was
called and the United Railroads
found all it's lines out of operation.
The cable way platform men de-
serted their cars in sympathy and
the people of San Francisco walked.
Immediately there came a demand
that the municipal Geary street
line be operated.
The supervisors. deprived of the
guiding hand OF their convicted