The San Francisco call., 1908-11-11

ley. 1t was revealed yesterday that the
letter sent to the depositors in the
Market street bank urging them to
vote against the Hetch Hetchy project
and signed by F. l.. Gift was Spring
Vallex document prepared and circu-
lated by the corporation. Gift was not
aware of the fact, 1t is stated, when he
gave his name to the letter.
In addition, personal letters were
sent by the Spring Valley company to
a number of businessmen containing
an appeal for the defeat of the pro-
Jected municipal system. At the same
time the members of the board of su-
pervisors took active steps to place the
! issue clearly before the voters. Spe-
cfal attention was called to the fact
that the voters will on Thursday be
given an opportunity to accept from the
! federal government for a mere song
grant that has been estimated as worth
from $4,000, 600 to S20.000,000. 1t will
require but an affirmative two-thirds
vote of the electors of the city to give
$500, 600 for water rights for which any
than S15,O0O.0 600.
TEACHERS HOLD MEETING
An enthusiastic meeting was held
yesterday at the Mission high school
which was attended by 1900 teachers.
David Oliver Jr. of the school board
presided and speeches were made by
Supervisors Giannini and McLeran and
City Engineer Marsden Manson. The
facts were presented to the teachers
and at the conclusion of the meeting
they were asked to spread the gospel
if they conscientiously believed the ac-
quisition of the Hetch Hetchy system
desirable.
There are two vital necessities said
Gianinni, air and water. There is no
monopoly in air; there is in water.
There are three or four schools where
pumps are maintained to supply the
water. IT will be necessary to obtain
an auxiliary supply. The company
which is now serving us has stated
that it can not give the amount re-
quired to meet the needs of the city.
It is absolutely necessary that some
thing be done Immediately. I do not
want to appear as an alarmist, but un-
less something is done at once a famine
may be upon US"
Supervisor McLeran stated that it
was only a few days ago that the
board of supervisors became aware of
the false reports that were being circu-
lated about the Sierra system and de-
cided that the public should be ac-
quainted with the truth and the exact
nature of the project under considera-
tion.
Manson illustrated his talk with
maps and stereopticon views of the
region.
Absolute purity is needed in a
water supply" began Manson. ut has
been discovered that many diseases are
due to an impure water supply. We
obtain our water in a large degree
from sources so bad that it should
never be used unless subjected to fill
tration. We now draw part of the
water from Lake Merced. and this is
on the dangerous border of being unfit
for use and unquestionably will soon
be unfit for use, as in the case of
Lobos creek The nearer a source of
supply is to the city the more likely
it is TO be contaminated. and the far
ther away the more likely to be pure"
NEED OF PURE WATER
The city engineer then reviewed the
various steps taken to secure Sierra
supply and showed that in the purity
Of its catchment area and the magnifi-
cence of it's natural reservoir the
Hetch Hetchy surpassed anything of
the kind to be found in any part Of the
world The speaker stated that il
would give the city q daily supply of
40 600, 900 gallons. or seven times as
much as Spring Valley is able to de-
liver.
Ten million or twenty million dol
lars would not restore TO the city an
asset like this. whether we develop It
today or a quarter of a century hence"
continued Manson. THE Boston Tran
script said recently that any city
would be willing TO pay 100000 900 for
such privilege as the government has
offered to San Francisco. What is San
Francisco going to do? If we want
it we have to get up and go to the
polls. The opposition is strong and it
requires two votes to one of theirs
because a two-thirds vote is necessary
to carry the election
The circular which attempted to dis
credit the project was prepared on be-
half of the Spring Valley company and
set forth that after the bonds had been
voted for the water project there
would be nothing left for streets,
sewers. and q new city hall This. re-
markable conclusion was reached on
the theory that $4,000 900 in bonds had
already been issued by the city, which
is almost double the amount authorized.
BY A process of reasoning purely of
Spring Valleys invention 1T is esti-
mated that the cost of water will rise
with the acquisition of the Hetch
Hetchy. Then proceeding in its false
and insidious attack, the circular con-
tinues:
-Hetch Hetchy is on government
property. It is not going to elope with
anybody There is no need for haste.
The United States will recognize San
Francisco's claim at a future time as
well as now. We can always have
Hetch Hetchy. Why break the back
Of San Francisco with taxes? Why
not get the things we Immediately
need first2-
The answer to that is public knowl-
edge, for if San Francisco refuses to
accept the offer of the government it
will be regarded by the government as
an absolute and final rejection of that
source of supply.
The circular concludes by raising
bogy of s4s,0OO,O00 in the following
phraseology:
The supervisors claim that the vot-
ers are only asked to authorize an
issue Of 100000 of bonds now. This
is misleading. Unless the s43. 900 600
be issued the 100000 will be lost"
STATEMENT is FALSE
This statement is on its surface so
absurdly false that it merits scant re-
ply. BY acquiring the lands with the
$500, 600 the city will come into full and
complete possession of the reservoir
site and will thus hold the key to the