The San Francisco call., 1908-10-25
Hall Association Is Divided as
to Disposition of Market
Street Property
Directors Representing Lodges
OF City Will Discuss Their
Differences Wednesday
Former Head of Order Wishes
Sale, While Attorney Offers
Loan for Improvement

Dissension and dispute have arisen in
the councils of the Odd Fellows hall
association over the use or disposal
of the large lot at the southwest cor
ner of Market and Seventh streets,
where the Odd Fellows building was
located prior to the fire. There will
be a meeting of the directors of the
association, which is a corporation
existing among the 81 San Francisco
lodges of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, Wednesday. At that
time it is expected that three PROPOSE
tons respecting the valuable prop
erty will be brought up, and the
rancor that has been growing among
the directors will find expression.
The possible uses or disposals of the
lot are. categorically. as follows:
First-To sell or lease the entire
property, which has Market street
frontage of $50 feet with the greatest
depth of los feet through to Stevenson
street for rs feet of that frontage. and
frontage on Seventh street of lao feet.
Second-To build a hall on the Mar
ket and Seventh street corner and sell
the remainder of the lot
Third-To build on the Market street
frontage adjoining the American thea
ter property and sell the Market and
Seventh streets corner.
A majority are said TO favor the lat
ter proposition, but the feeling is.
evenly divided.
WOULD BUILD OR SELL
There are SS directors of the build
ing association, representing all the
lodges that own stock in the corpora
tion. Of these the representatives of
the five German lodges in the city are
as unit in favoring the sale of the
property. These lodges are Germania,
Concordia, Harmony and Herman and
Walhalla encampment. The lodges
owning the largest interest in the as
sociation are Yerba Buena, Templar,
Bay City and Harmony.
Judge David Louderback, at one time
head of the Odd Fellows of California,
is the representative of Yerba Buena
lodge on the building committee of the
board of directors. He has ever been
a consistent advocate of the proposition
TO sell the property. For several
months Judge Louderback has been i'll
and IT is reported that his lodge has
directed its present delegate to the
board of directors to oppose selling and
to favor the building proposition. Yerba
Buena lodge is the largest holder of
stock In the association. controlling
nearly one-tenth of the paper.
Alfred Thurman, the attorney OF 642
Laguna street, the representative of
Templar lodge on the board of di-s
rectors, has been vigorous objector to
the proposition to build on the lot. He
is strongly in favor of selling and will
go before the directors Wednesday
night prepared TO make, a bitter fight
against building on the property.
BUILDING LOAN OFFERED
The leader of the movement to re-
tain the property and build on the
premises is M. j. Platshek, an attorney
in the Pacific building. member of
Bay City lodge and one of the building
committee of the directorate. Pfatshek
is eager for the order to build and
stands ready to finance loan for $780,
600 TO aid the building.
The financial condition of the asso-
citation is one OF the chief hindrances
to building. There is at present a
mortgage of s122.0eo on the lot. A
loan of $4,000 on second nortga ge.
according to the most liberal estimates.
would have TO be made before building
even class c structure. Then. 1t is
argued, $4,000 more would be required
to furnish the halls. There are some
$4,000 shares of stock in the building
association outstanding at an estimated
value of s306 900. Therefore, a build
ing constructed would represent an
outlay of approximately s60S.O00 at the
least figures.
The business expediency of building
is seriously questioned by the German
lodges and those VINO take their view.
Alfred Thurman said yesterday that the
building would have a fixed charge OF
$4,000 a month to meet and declared
that no lodge building could pay that.
COST CAUSES OBJECTION
1T would take at least a class A
building to meet the fixed expenses"
said Thurman. "a class A building
would cost from 100000 to 81, 600. 600.
and it would be impossible for the
association to construct such a costly
affair." Lodge property does not paw
we'll. If the order did put up a class
C building it would be an incumbrance
rather than an Improvement, for the
lot requires a class A building and
any one who would purchase it would
do so with the idea of putting up tle
best kind of a building. The order
should sell and build on less valuable
property. though immediate sale is
not necessary.
Platshek. the champion of the build
Ing plan. put his argument as an ap-
peal to the pride of the order. The
order should show its regard for the
city by building" he declared. Even
If it would incur an Indebtedness n. is
better able to do that than are many
individuals. There has been a move
ment among some of the lodges to
hinder our plans ever since the fire
stand ready to negotiate loan of $3.50
600 for the association, and with that
we could start to build. Anyway. now
is the worst time in the history of the
city to SELL
ANOTHER LOT SUGGESTED
Hugo Scheunert of 1903 Haight street.