The San Francisco call., 1913-11-21
REDD|NG IS
OPPOSED To
MAYOR
City Should Have Magnificent
Structure, but 1t Should
Be Free, Says Mayor

Mayor Rolph declared irrevocably
this morning that the city is ready to
receive the municipal opera house as
of its construction on that condition.
Joseph D. Redding. attorney for the
subscribers. declared that the mayors
offer comes too late and that the sub
scribers will not consider any propo-
sition to revive the municipal opera
house scheme.
Mayor Rolphs statement was as fol-
lows:
There is no reason in the world
why the city can not have the
opera house If the subscribers are
willing. We are offering the land; let
them give US the building. Tt should
be gift outright to the city, in con-
troll of the city and with no special
privileges to the subscribers.
san Francisco is standing VII
open arms ready to accept the mag
niicent gift. I certainly am not op-
posed to it. but do not believe that
any person or class should have the
right for all time to any seats or
boxes. or that the board of trustees
should be governed by private indi-
Eiduals
READY TO CALL MEETING
'I am ready to call special meet
ing of the supervisors this afternoon
If the subscribers will tender this
building as a gift, with no strings
attached
I hope you will be able to overcome
the objections raised and that the
opera house can be built by the pri-
vate donors and made a gift to the
city"
In this letter the mayor incloses
copies of kilograms from the mayors
of Minneapolis. St. Paul and Denver.
showing that in none of these cities
are municipal opera houses conducted
on the plan of the San Francisco sub
scribers.
OFFER CAME TOO LATE
Mayor Rolph's offer comes too late.
lie has given the subscribers of the
S850,000 a slap in the face He has
tacitly charged them with undemo-
cratic principles and placed a refiec-
tion on their motives. l can say au-
thoritatively that the subscribers will
not entertain any proposition for a
revivifcation of the opera house
scheme"
With these words Attorney Joseph
Redding, member of the board of
trustees appointed to foster the mu-
nicipal opera house, today made it
clear how he and the trustees stood
IN the matter. Mr.. Redding said that
Mayor Rolph had failed to grasp the
many democratic points involved in
the plans laid out by the trustees.
ASKED NO PRIVILEGES
THE subscribers were not asking
any special privileges said Mr.. Red
ding. They put up their money to
insure the existence of the opera
house, which had to be endowed as
all opera houses have to be endowed
10 live, and they believed that if they
could pay for good seats they were
entitled to them. People without
means would be willing to sit In mod
est seats as long as they could hear
grand opera or high class entertain
ment for reasonable prices. 1t is a
matter of common knowledge that
fabulous prices are asked for choice
seats at grand opera. How many
persons in modest circumstances
would care to pay exorbitant sums to
see a performance?
'In other words the wealthy citi-
zens of a community keep up the
opera and the others are able to en-
ioy the fruits without taxing their
purses. There is nothing aristocratic
or undemocratic about the propo-
sition, and Mayor Rolph will probably
realize that some day"
To pass an ordinance over the
mayors veto would require IA votes.
When the opera house ordinance was
passed by the supervisors November
10 the vote was 13 to 5. those against
the ordinance being Supervisors A. ].
Gallagher, George Gallagher, Edward
J.. Nolan, Oscar Hooks and Ralph Nc
Leran. This would indicate that the
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