The San Francisco call., 1910-03-29
GEARY ST. BOGY
SADLY L0NGfD
FOR CAPTIVITY
Bonds Attacked on Ground That
Road Had No Chance to
Sell Itself to City
Attorney for PIatt Argues Pres
ent Line Needs No
Improvement

improvement
Not only did the white elephant of
the Geary street line, the interesting
symbol of the billboards during the re-
cent municipal bond election, consider
itself able to handle all the traffic that
would be presented to its glistening
back, but it trumpeted sadly yesterday
in the superior court because it did not
have the opportunity to sell itself TO
the city so that it might be renovated
and an electric system installed in its
copious insides.
Those interesting attitudes of the
'Tbogy" were presented yesterday at
the first session of the hearing of the
preliminary motions in the suit brought
by Horace G. Platt. tax payer" also
president of the Geary street road, TO
eajoin the board of supervisors and the
city from issuing and selling the Geary
street municipal railroad bond issue OF
81. 100000 adopted in January last by
an Overwhelming vote.
NEEDS No IMPROVEMENT
one of the contentious advanced
without a smile by Attorney William l.
Brobeck, representing the plaintin IN
the suit. was that there was no need
for an improved streetcar service in
Geary street or its environs, and Sec
ond fault found with the bond proceed
ings was that the Geary street railroad
company, the existing utility, did not
have the privilege of Offering itself 1or
sale.
Brobeck intimated that the super
visors had proceeded improperly in the
- 1arT
were afraid" he said, that the existing
utility would come forward and offer
itself for sale
1T didn't come forward, did itT"
asked Assistant City Attorney Haven
pointedly 1T was invited, too" he
added.
MAKES STRONG POINT
Assistant City Attorney Nourse in
attacking the complaint, made the
strong and novel point that San Fran
cisco's bonding capacity is not only
unimpaired at present but is compara-
lively unlimited, for while the charter
provides that bonds aggregating is per
cent of the assessed valuation of the
city property only may be issued al
one time for the purpose of acquiring
or constructing public utilities, the
bonding capacity Of the city for other
purposes is unrestricted or limited
merely by its credit. During the mid
winter bond elections an argument con-
tinually advanced by opponents of the
issues was that the city was In grave
danger of crippling its bonding ability.
The proceedings were before Supe-
rior Judge John L. Ellison OF Tehama
county, sitting in Judge Sturtevants
department Of the superior court. All the
local Judges were disqualified on the
ground that they were tax payers in
San Francisco. Argument was begun
Yesterday on the motion 10 strike out
certain portions of the Platt complaint
and on the demurrer of the city to the
complaint.
NoURS, OPENS ARGUMENT
Assistant City Attorney John T.
Nourse presented the opening argument
for the city. Assistant City Attorney
Thomas z. Haven will close william
l. Brobeck made the argument for the
tax payer" Horace G. Platt was In
court during the day and Joined In
several bouts of repartee with Haven
and Nourse. Attorney A Z. Shaw was
associated with Brobeck- Former Su-
pervisor Daniel c. Murphy. who was
one of the foremost advocates of the
Geary street railroad project. was IN
the courtroom during part of the after
noon.
The hearing is on in an improvised
courtroom in Red Mems hall, Golden
Gate avenue near Leavenworth street
The case will continue today, and
urobs bly will not end until Wednesday.
In opening the proceedings Judge
Ellison stated that the demurrer would
be taken up first
TAKES UP ARGUMENT
Assistant City Attorney Nourse stated
that there were only two topics for
the proper consideration of the court.
Those were:
First-Has the city power to enter
into business and issue bonds; and,
second, have the proper officials taken
the proper steps in the matter of the
issuance of the bonds. The plaintiff,
he asserted, was not properly in court,
for in this case a tax payer has no
right 10 oppose the issuance of bonds
by which he would not be injured, and
that IL there was an injury be would
have an adequate remedy at law and
would not have to resort to Injunction
proceedings in court of equity.
Point by point Nourse took up the
contentious of the Platt complaint. He
characterized as irrelevant the conten-
tions that there were existing utilities
which had rights which would be i'm
paired by the municipal operation or
the Geary street line. and read citations
to show that a municipal enterprise
took precedence over enterprises oper-
ating under franchises from the city.
FRANCHISE LONG VOID
He discussed the contention of the
complaint that there was an existing
franchise over five blocks Of Geary
street, from Kearny to Taylor, first
held in the name of the Central rail-
road company and the North Beach and
Mission railroad company and now
hsld by the United Railroads as an
inheritance from the Market street
railroad company.
The contract under which these
franchises were transferred is abso-
lutely void as a matter Of public pol
icy." argued Nourse. THE constitution
prevents any act by which. the life of
a franchise can be extended illegally"
Nourse offered figures furnished in
an affidavit of w. r. Hagerty. clerk of
the board of supervisors, to show that
bonding capabilities of San Francisco.
These figures showed that while $S3,-
$50 900 in bonds has been authorized
there were now only $16.105. 500 sold
and outstanding. Cancelled and re-
deemed bonds amounted to $11,291. 900.
and the amount authorized and unsold
$685. 900. That gave s72,2S9,s00 as
the amount of bonds actually sold or to
be sold, and of this sum only the Geary
street bonds of s2,o20,ooo and the Sierra