Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-01-15
SAN FRANCISCO,
FACING / !. TROUBLE,
is NAKING1l UP
Disastrous Results of Recent
Elections Force Action for
Public improvements
By ERNEST N. SMITH

or financially, but municipalities re-
CARDS the future of the city.
San Francisco, making ready to play
host to the world in 1915. has backed
up" as one writer expressed it, when
he recently called the city to account,
and awoke its good citizens to areali-
cation of. their SNUG self-sufficiency.
Maybe it ought not to be called that.
It really is the root Of the past evils
with which the city has been afflicted,
that now. sprout again at an inoppor,
tune time to blight the city's pro-
gress. -
In short, the way the citizens voted
at the recent municipal elections
seems to- have yeffectually stopped the
city's efforts to make ready for 1915.
And they probably did that because
they looked upon with suspicion any
amendment that even remotely had
anything to do with q corporation, and
they put the stamp of disapproyal on
pretty nearly everything that would
tend to increase the tax rate-which
while high, is by no means exorbitant
for city in San, Franeisco's position.
Under the California laws pretty
nearly any old matter can be voted
upon If enough people sign a petition
to bring the matter before the people.
And the first to-take advantage of the
new laws were the city employees.
about half the recent amendments Vot-
ed upon were to increase the salaries
| of the workers in various municipal
departments. Even the firemen, with
hours upon hours of easy time, tried
to get the city to vote upon q three
platoon system which would have add
/ ed many more men to the fire force,
only to give the present force more
time off, and which would have. cost
the city about $500. 600 a year. This,
with other amendments, was voted
down with great alacrity. .. =
But witb equal joy, seemingly, most
of The amendments that were quite
necessary for the city's welfare were
also voted down. %@.. j =
For instance-in the charter, amend
ments election the opponents of mu-
niipal ownership voted down a
method whereby various public utili-
ties could be extended thru the use of
public capital. - 80
- And at the same time the friends of
municipal ownership voted down an
amendment which would have pfoyid-
ed for an extension of public utilities
by private capital. E@]F
Block Public Work.
The net result being that there is
now no practical way Of extending
public utilities. =.
In other words no street railroad,
water main, gas pipe, electric line or
steam conduit can be extended into the
outer city districts. The city hasn't
the power to make the extension itself,
and cant grant the necessary permits
for private, capital to do the work.
A 1911 amendment to the, constitu-
ton shut OFF perpetual franchises and
/ the general rights of water and light
corporations. Capital refuses to ex-
tend any street railways under:a TWEEN
ty-five year franchise with wages at
$500 a day, because n that short time
1t cannot get its money back. And
the, people have voted that the people
mustn't make them. o.
Following up the same foolish policy
and citizens voted down the amend
ment5 to take the water bonds from
the city debt limit. As municipal
water plant would be self-sustaining
the receipts from water paying the IN
terest on the bonds. and providing a
sinking fund, it was felt that, these
bonds could be removed from the debt
limit and the city could then bond it.
self to carry forward other municipal
improvements. But the citizens, or
enough of those who voted, killed any
present hope of accomplishing that
purpose
A Financial Problem. :.
San Francisco's debt limit is about
ST, 100000. We have already voted
bonds amounting to $79,000,000. The
city must have water, wants the Hetch
Hetchy, but Secretary Fisher says we
must first buy the Spring Valley. This
will cost between So, 600, 900 and $40,-
000, 000,. but where is the money COM
ing from? If we took some of our
present water bonds to buy Spring Val
ley We wouldn't have enough left to
develop Hetch Hetchy. And vice
versa.
The transportation expert that the
city has been hiring for months at a
tremendous sum, has reported that
San Francisco must spend $17,500,000
very shortly for street railroad extern
sions if the city is to be in any kind
of shape to handle the worlds fair
traffic. But the people haven't voted
any way to get the money.
And in the next few years, some Of
the important street railway fran
chises expire. The natural and logical
thing for the city to do would be to
buy the rolling stock and rails and
plant and add it to the present Geary
street municipal railway. But the Cit
izens put crimp in the citys finances.
. There came an opportunity to buy
the famous Sutro baths and heights,
PERHAPS San Francisco most notable
playground, at the entrance to the
Golden Gate. But the citizens voted
that down, and probably the property
is lost TO the city forever.
Good Things Beaten.
An aquatic park was VO;ed down,
though other cities on the coast have