The San Francisco call., 1910-01-13

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WALTER MACARTHUR |
ter proposition, namely, overbond-
ing of the city, exorbitant valua-
tion Of the property, character of
the plant, ETC., may be open to dis
cussion. However, the consensus
of expert opinion resolves these
points in favor of the project. The
best legal advice obtainable is to
the effect that the amount involved
in both propositions-Lake Eleanor
and Spring Valley-is well within
the city's present bonding capacity,
upon the ground that a bond issue
is merely an authorization to sell
bonds, and does not become debt
against the city until the bonds are
actually sold. Apart from the re-
spect due to the legal opinion upon
this point 1t requires no argument
to confirm this point in the mind of
any intelligent persons. The propo
sition is obviously good sense as
well as good law.
AS to the value of the Spring Val
ley property. many estimates have
been made varying in round num-
bers from $2o.000,000 to S51, 100000.
This variance is natural to the char
acter of the problem, inasmuch as
there exists no established formula
upon which to base the calculations.
In the last analysis the conclusions
must be more or less arbitrary. Here
again expert and, the writer be-
lieves, disinterested advice lies be-
fore us. Colonel Heuer, the well
known engineer, has made an ex-
haustive analysis of these estimates,
as a result of which he declares his
belief that somewhere between
s3O.000,o00 and sS6,000,O00 is prob
ably the actual value of the Spring
Valley water company's system
In 1877 the city offered to pur-
chase the Spring Valley property
for s11,ooo.ooO. The company was
then supplying between 10000
and 100000 gallons of water per
day. The company is now supply
ing between 5,000,0 200 and 35, 5,000,000
gallons of water per day. Thus the
purchase price now proposed is
practically the same as that offered
by the city in 1877, when compared
with the increased amount of water
supplied, not to mention the in
creased value of the company
property held for water purposes.
The writer is of the opinion, based
- IL =, Z,
iect, that the figure now named, so
ar from being eXorbitant or in the
nature of a "holdup,' lis reasonable
and probably as low, if not lower,
than any figure that may be agreed
upon hereafter.
Concerning the alleged ram
shackle" character of the company;s
plant, the fact is that the pumping
plants, reservoirs, dams, pipes, etc,
are in good condition. The writer is
informed upon authority which he
considers reliable that the pipes in
the streets of San Francisco are
serviceable for forty or fifty years
more. AS TO the various dams, it is
known that these suffered no ma
terial damage from the great earth
quake, Notwithstanding they lie III
the region subject to most serious
disturbance. 1t is probably. quite
safe to say that these structures
are among the best of their kind
to be found anywhere. There is no
room. for dispute concerning the
quality of the water itself, which
is admitted by authorities to COM
pare favorably with that supplied
to any other city. and is probably
just as pure as the water of the
Sierra will be when delivered to
the householders. The property of
the company within the city, in
cluding numerous reservoir sites
which can nQt be duplicated and
embracing in all over 1000 acres
of land, is of great and ever in
creasing value. both for water and
other purposes.
Upon these points it remains to
be said that even were the objec-
tions we'll sustained. their weight in
the aggregate would not measure
against the imperative and deter
mining fact that unless the city
shall take advantage of the present
opportunity to secure possession of
the existing water supply it must
reconcile itself to a long period of
suffering from conditions already in :
tolerable and bound to grow worse
as time passes.
1t is the settled opinion of the
writer that a vote for the Hetch
Hetchy or Lake Eleanor PROPOSE
tion and against the Spring Valley
purchase is a vote against both
propositions, for the reason that the
preservation of the clty's rights in
the former respect is contingent.
upon the adoption of the latter
proposition. The opposition to the
grant in the I5etch Hetchy is still
active, powerful and untiring. Moth
ing will so strengthen that opposi-
tion as the refusal of the city to
avail itself of the opportunity to
secure control of and develop to its
utmost capacity the source of water
supply now within reach. The de-
feat of the Spring Valley PROPOSE
tion will be regarded by those in
authority in the federal government
as an evidence that the city is ami
mated by hostility toward the
Spring Valley water company rather
than by a sincere desire to improve
the water supply. 1t may be safely
assumed that the government will