The San Francisco call., 1910-11-29
CITY CAN BUY
At "FAIR PRICE"
President BOurn Says No Figure
VIII Be Named Unless /.
Sale Is in View
Meeting Will Be Held in the
Mayors Office Tonight TO
Discuss Letter

Bourn- addressed letter to the board
OF supervisors yesterday, offering to
sell its entire property 10 the city cat
a fair and reasonable price" The
price was not named The ietter con-
cluded with this sentence:
AS we have explained to YOU we
csn not. considering past experience.
name q price except under circuln-
stances which viii warrant the be-
lief that sale viii be cOnsumma ted"
II is recognized by those who have
followed The course sof the water con-
croversy that the city has no legal
method OF purchase under the present
charter limitations The endeavor to
remove these restrictions failed with
the defeat OF aplendment No. at the
recent charter election. The passage
Of this appointment would have be-
slowed upon the city the power either
10 take over the stocks and. bonds OF
Spring Nalley7or to defect a portion of
the Hetch Hetchy issue toward the ac-
QUESTION Of the Bourn holdings.
Under the7 statutes as they stand.
there is but one way in which the
city may proceed 10 gain immediate
contrQl OF Spring Valley. The course
lies through the formation Of a Metro
p0litsn water district. The adapta-
bility of its properties for such a dis
trict is mentioned by the Spring Val
ley letter
The communication states that the
company has made extensive improve
nents and enlargements since the offer
10 sell for S35. 600 600 was rejected. It
is able. now the company contends, to
turn over the plant complete in every
detail supplying 10000 600 gallon.
daily. with potential capacity of
I25.000.0o0 gallons a day. and possessing
expansive watersheds as an insurance
against the future.
President Bourn intimates rather
broadly that uBless the city shows. some
activity in the matter. he viii begin
the sale OF water in Oakland and with
draw his offer.
AT the Offices of the company it was
stated yesterday that the watersheds
were SO distributed as TO make them
the natural distributing point for cities
as far south as San Jose and north
ward TO San Francisco, Oakland, Ala
media and Berkeley.
The letter reviews at some length
previous negotiations with the city
and the general value of the property.
Proceeding. il says:
The 125.00o.o 600 gallons. or more. Of
water per day that can be developed
from properties now owned or con-
tro BY this company. it is estimated
VIII sUfnce the city OF san Francisco
for more than half q century. The i'm
pQrtant element Of safety Of supply
viii be fully covered through the
ownership of our peninsula reservoirs
as relating 10 the safety of the water
supply OF this city. or through the
ownership Of the Arroyo Valley reser-
Voir site or the CalaVeTas reservoir site
as relating tosthe safety of supply for
any transhay city The combination Of
these two systems for a metropolitan
water district such as has been dis
cussed. would be practica lly indispenss-
81 nil - ~.f- I'll
tlal when the existing supply is aug
mented from any Sierra source.
MANY IMPROVEMENTS MADE
The letter then. proceeds to an
enumeration or the improvements made
since the offer OF $4,000 900. the SUITS
settled, and the new acreage acquired
or these, it says in part.
Last year. when the property was
subject 10 litigation, limitations and
conditions WHICH no longer exist, we
offered as a compromise to. sell sthe
property then owned for the sam of
which that oRer WIS made and of the
property itself saTe changed Since the
date Of The offer in many important
particulars. and among them the fol-
lowing:
I. A sale at that time would have end
eCF the litigation then pending be-
tween the city and the company
which the company has since been
forced TO eoptiRue through the
.. The Clough suit: We have acquired
sll the stock Of the Washington and
Murray township water company.
and any embarrassment arising from
2 minority ownership in that COM
psnN has been removed
3 Great stress was aid in Washington
and elsewhere as TO the Limitation
on the quantity OF water which this
company might convey from its
transbay sources. No such lihita-
ion now exists.
Z. S1lits then pending affecting ske
company right TO avail Of "A soufce
from which il obtains a large daily
supply OF water. have BEEN adjusted.
3. More than $4,000 acres of property
have been recently acquired, Whicb
are now uRder the c0ntFoI or owner
ship Of this company. The acquisi-
tioa or this property greatly in
creases the amount of water capable
n development, perfects reservoir
sites, protects watersheds and re-
moves the possibility Of conditions
arising tAat might have been en-
8. Financial requirements for project
Ing end developing our properties
were not theneeasy 70 arrange but
plans have now been perfected
whereby the company is ena bled to
further develop its sources of sup
ply. The Calaveras dam is now in
course OF construction
Z. The company can now market a
large additional supply. thus incress-
ing its resenUe.
2. N HiIt our previous oIter was pend
ing, IL was stated by representatives
~ the administration that the prom
critics Of the company could not be
developed 70 supply in excess of
60,o0o.00o gallons per day. We were
confident tfen as we are now
that proper development win enable
them to furnish more than 1855 Oe0.-
0oe gallons per day.
2. Last January our plant could deliver
and distribute in San Francisco only
100000 gallons per day AS a re-
suit Of work long in progress and
now completed we are distributing
4e.o0o,o00 gallons per day.
HASTE II Urged
In conclusion. Bourn writes:
AT this time we are in a position to
sell all the properties embraced in our
previous offer and all property since
directly or indirectly acquired This
condition can not long continue. Finan-
cisl reasons require US to segregate
properties not required for a water
supply, and the transbay situation NAV
create conditions that viii make ii i'm
possible for us TO offer our water
properties free from contracts and
obligations which do not now exist
il is not inappropriate to remind Won
here that these properties are very
valuable not alone for a water supplv.
but they possess uneXampled possibili-
ties for z magnificent park system
which their subdivision would render
together impracticable