The San Francisco call., 1909-03-28
CITY HAS DONE
NOTHING, SAYS
RAILROAD KING
San Francisco's Vacant Lots
Are Depl0red by 6. Il.
Hartman
Pessimistic Southern Pacific
President Denounces Con-
struction of High Buildings


day by Edward H. Hartman Taking
bitter text from the vacant lots. he
declared: San Francisco has done
nothing to improve itself"
Taking another text, but not consist
emily, from the buildings already con-
structed on what were once vacant lots.
he declared: There should be no more
buildings erected until those already
standing are occupied more complete
ly."
Then he took up particularly the
plant of the Southern Pacific company.
They want us to build depot in San
Francisco" he said, but they make the
prices for land SO high that we can
not purchase the site They should
know that wherever we go we will in
crease the value of the land in the
VIcInlty. But we can do nothing now"
1hat declaration came from the pres
ioent OF the Southern Pacific and other
rodus WITHIN half an hour of the time
ne had agreed with President Louis
I1llI OF the Northern Pacific son of 7
-: t1iil 70 push ahead with the extern
SiVe piahs for the union depot exten-
slohs IN Portland He admitted the
pIoposed Portland improvements and
80 .lien ueciared that San Francisco was
- nave no kindred railroad work done.
PESSIMIsM is GRATJYrOus
Harriman's pessimism over San Fran
cisco was uttered gratuitously yester
uaS dlterhoon 1t was not abstracted
by the corkscrew of an interviewer
The railroad king, or emperor. What
ever his present title may be. spent the
afternoon at the Frank CaroIan polo
park While the whites and the reds
rode on the green for the edidcation of
Hartman and his party, the railroad
president was in a snug corner of the
clubhouse porch settling the details of
! the Portland depot improvements with
President Hill of the Northern Pacific.
He finished that conference which will
mean the expenditure of large sums of
money in the northern city, in time to
see the final struggle of the pony of
see the final struggle of the pony
riders. Then his daughter. Miss Mary
Hartman. appropriated him, and with
Miss Sears, a young woman from Bos-
ton, gave him some pointers on the
game.
Hartman consented to give an inter
view and delivered homily on the
shrewdness of the polo ponies. But
Miss Hartman did not approve of the
interview and drew her father away to
inspect a popular pony.
HARTMAN Is TALKATIvE
In few moments Hartman slipped
from his daughter and strolled over to
the newspapermen.
rs there anything more you wish?"
he asked cordially.
There were several things which
would be interesting to the public, as
coming from the railroad manipulation.
1t did not take more than the sugges-
tion of a question to start Hartman on
his opinion OF San Francisco. Hereto
fore visiting travellers have marveled
over the rebuilding and rehabilitation
of San Francisco. Hartman developed
q fresh point of view. lie plucked the
pride from San Francisco, crumpled it
I'm and tossed it away with a parting
shot of advice which was meant TO be
good.
."rhey want us to build a depot here"
he said by way of preface, showing his
hands deep into the pockets of his great
coat But he added, with some
acerbity. they make the prices for
land so high that we can not secure
what we want. Don't they know that
wherever we go we will increase the
vaIue of the land in the neighborhood?
"rhe trouble is that San Francisco
has done nothing to improve itself
There are too many vacant corner lots
in
could play ball in them, like we used
to play when 1 was young
"Then there are too many vacant
huildings-high buildings. They should
not have built so high, but should have
spread them out more. There should
he no new buildings put up until those
already constructed are fairly well
Tlled Then there should be a limit OF
six stories put on buildings heard
tbat some one intended to put up 20
story building-that is ridiculous
SCORES HIGH BUILDING
..Naw york and Chicago are ruined
because of their high buildings" de-
cIared the magnate emphatically-
~e;omathing should be put on top of
+heno TO SQUASH them down and spread
them out What is the troubie? he
digdainfully repeated question
! WI, there is no light nor air in the
congested districts"
Tben he returned to his critical study
of San Francisco's reputed sins and
derelictions
inp-of being built up said the scorn-
fuI railroad president in tone of con-
ascension he might use in referring to
. narrow gauge railroad that ran from
aya1,-bare 20 Hence and was naughty be-
cause its one locomotive was painted
red.
s.san Francisco talks or being built
up-and there has been some rebuild
inpp-this in spite of the vacant corner
lots which harassed the soul and trou-
h,ed the eye of the inancier-"but
bomas have not been rebuilt. People
are not going into homes now. They
arc living in apartments or out in the
suburbs. Where are the homes that are
being rebuiIt?' asked the man who had
snenf but a few hours In San Francisco,
but who had been enjoying long con-
ferences with William F. Herrin and
other railroad operators of the city.
on cross examination Hartman re-
luctantly admitted that San Francisco
had not sinned very deeply in the mat
ter of high buildings. But he feared for
its future.
HAVE Low BUILDINGS
Have low buildings, declared the
oracle of Wall street, with less am
sbiguity. than an oracle is supposed to
exhibit, have low buildings and the