The San Francisco call., 1908-09-26

MERCHANTS DISCUSS
INDIA BASIN PLAN
Directors of Association Hold
Luncheon at FairmOnt to
Consider Scheme
Opinions Differ Over Manner Of
Securing Funds for Islais
Creek Project

1ne ISiHlS creek prOJecl Aol iiIcu 1i1o
theme Of an exhaustive Informal d1s-
cussion at the luncheon of the directors
of the Merchants association at the
Fairmont hotel yesterday. Both sides
of the question were pEesented oy
speakers who have made cafelul
study of the plans for the India basin
Improvement. No action was taken
by the directors as result OF Inc
conference, but the matter is TO De
presented to the association as q whole,
and on the decision then reached Will
depend the support or opposition OF the
association TO the proposed India. basin
bond issue at the coming election.
No opposition to the Islais creek
project formed any part of the DIS
cussion yesterday, the differences OF
opinion expressed being relative only
Ito the time and manner of securing
funds for the carrying out OF the I'M
provement. An official set of resolu-
tions against the proposed issue OF ~
| year bonds, provided for In the lnula
| basin act, was adopted short time
ago by the directors of the chamber
of commerce at meeting when was
not fully attended, and several speak
ers from the chamber of commerce
were invited to attend the luncheon
yesterday and explain their views iully-
OBJECT TO BIG ISSUE
| James Tyson, William L. Gerstle and
NJ J. Brandenstein were the members
| of the chamber of commerce who OPP
| posed the act providing for the mil
| lion dollar Issue of 20 year bonds The
principal objection advanced was based
Ion the theory that the harbor revenue
will not be sufficient to meet the IN
/ terest on 20 year bonds and at the
same time provide a sinking fund suf-
fcient to meet the bonds on their ma
turity.
Figures were presented to show that
/ the harbor revenue has decreased ma
terially within the last few years and
| the claim was made that there exists
grave doubt as to whether the repay
ment of the million dollars could be
made in 20 years.
/ The speakers who opposed the pres
ent bond issue plan declared In FAVOR
/ of its defeat at the coming election
with the object of presenting new
bill to the legislature providing for a
10 year bond issue. 1t was urged that
such a bond issue would only postpone
action for two years and that it would
allow 19 years to elapse before 1t be-
| came necessary to form the sinking
/ fund for the repayment of the bonds.
This, the speakers insisted, would pre-
sent a plan of financing the scheme
far better than the plan now proposed,
DELAY IS OPPOSED
George Center. Senator r. j. Welch
and James Roiph Jr. took issue with
the speeches favoring delay, insisting
that the 90 year bond issue provided
for in the present India basin act should
be voted at once and work on the
great Improvement project begun inn
| mediately. They declared, that the
lharbor revenue is adequate to meet
the interest on the bond issue and pro-
! vide a sinking fund for repayment
! without trouble. Moreover. it was
pointed out that a delay of two years
j would cause a great setback to the
plans for the growth of the city's COM
merce and that strong doubt ex-
listed whether the Legislature would
pass the bill proposed as substitute
for the present bill.
A general discussion by all present
followed the presentation of the argu-
ments by the speakers, but no straw
ballot was taken nor were other means
resorted to of ascertaining the general
sentiment