A NEW SAN FRANCISCO.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 219, 9 June 1908, Page 11

A NEW SAN FRANCISCO.

<>—r~ — I4PTER THE, EARTHQUAKE AND THE FIRE.

. INTERESTING INTERVIEW. • (Bl' iELEGRAFn.—Si'EOIAL CORKESPONDENT.) Auckland, June 8. An - American visitor to Auckland is Mr. E. D. ■ Taylor, son of the present Mayor of .:••••• Chatting' with' a; "Star" /represenfcativo.'Mr.Taylor imparted some -.interesting information regarding the wonderful progress of .San Francisco sinco the " earthquake, fire, and disclosure of the hugo ''graft" frauds perpetrated by .Mayor Schmi tz. and'his associates. - ■ ■" I r .e?d in-an Auckland paper the other ' ay ;. s * i( ' Mr. Taylor, ."that thbro is liwre grafting going on- in ' San' Francisco now ..than whon'Schmitz held tho powers of ad-' ■ - Tliat is absolutely incorrect. My. father is now Mayor of the city, and . ever since he: took over the control there has .been a;wonderful change.. Immediately upon taking.office the constitution of overy local. board, and those who. had control of the: various departments in Schmitz's time havo been superseded. Tho Etlucation 'and School . Boards, .the Police Dopartment,.- the Fire Commissioners, Dc- , p&rtment ,of. Public- Works, and hospital authorities have all been placed under a •-Hew* administration, with most excellent re- ; suits.". :• " Speaking of the . treniendous "grafting". . frauds worked .by Mayor SeWitz/.-. and -his - associate, Abo-Ruef, -Mr." Tayl6r^- : 'says .that - each man must have cleared at least a mil-, ' dollars per year : while tho*.control, of , tho city * was ;in their: hands. ■' It was im- . possible, ho says, to get anything dono with-.' ... -out bribery;. whether it were a permit for. a prize, fightv or a franchise for street cars, : : .I? -,Y , '?, S o»!y possible .to receive municipal ■ ' Motion by 'a..' liberal.greasing, of'tho palm, work like.magic/- .-Even in 1 the case pf,istreet,- maintenance oria.-broken . .sewer, - it was {impossible?' to -get- anything• ... dont, without; paying, .from 100' dollars ■ up-, in attorney's l fees.' One of .tho greatg.^/'fte";;'on record " was workedby Scli•mitz and Ruef in connection with the 'establishment, of .i second . telephone service for can.; Francisco., '.One• -cohipan'v,. desirous cf . receiving;-the'? franchise paid 80,000 dollars to.,get-.it. -The company already exercising • a /,monopoly 'paid 100,000 .dollars to keep opi position out::- Schmitz and Ruef refused' the . franchise, ; and . stuck ,to the-180,000. dollars, " C3Se '-Wlilch'' formed'.'one of' - r, against •tbem.Rudolph Spi'eckels, one, of the citizens, who took a leading part, in ;^he.effort : ion nnj? os ? ,i ""grafting" - system, spent ..? I 0 ?.# d.ollars , out ■of his v.own pocket • ■ V}- about; the 'denunciation, ; " and : Mid Jlr. ; Taylor, was just a drop >in toe bucket compared to the.enormous.amount' or. money "spent in. overthrowing the administration. Yet it has been'; stilted ' that fcprcckols was' only serving his'own- ends in ' .. . exposiiig Schmitz. This, of my own know- .' : Jodge, I .can' say is absolutely untrue, .and - there,wag, ( a,man act'usited with a tijwr;. ' of citizenship.' ' To-daj' San Francisco' is,'',rrom 'a. municipal Btandpoint, ono of thb ' -, and most .moral cities, in the world." ..Jj' Since;.-the/ earthquake 'and '.the, fire' of a , little .over two years ago," added Mr. Tay- < : lor, \ a wonderful ;.change has been brought about, and it is almost as if Aladdin's lamp had been brought into requisition. - After tho firo the debris was piled up 40ft. high in the It was not tho earthquf.ke, so much : . as tho fire,.• that' did the damage. Tho , scene . was: ; one.:of, absolute -desolation, and there • . WCTe. some who' thought it .would be SO years ' replaced. Yet- to-day a , - nc i sco arisfii from tho ruins ' of .tho . old. . Already buildiiiigs, to" the .valno 0f100,000,000d01.- have: been • erected. ■. The .KPalace.Hotcl, - one ,iri the ; :been pullsd down j:< md is in ; wiMtracifoh;:. .Vi will havo a heigh' rt wajr-i*and . contaiii'SOM roornsV Refore .the .fire, tlie'popii- : totalled ab.oij t. ha If j 'a") imil) iqiv; af.teiythe to' 175,000;' to-day- it lias spiuhgVp. ' to HoO.GOO. Oakland,, other-smaller ■ c eptWl : ifJ"'oh.,surrounded^,'Fyisco,! were so" itlypWiP o i>«l?ted;after tho-.fi'reVthat-the .'land : ' went up to' enormous';values,'.ypt within two 1 ' ybars the people have returned in overwhelming numbers, and a new San Francisco is springing up with modern buildings and modern .improvements, which "under model ad-i : ministration will make it one of the most wonderful, . cities in the world. The traces of. disaster- which followed earthquake and fire are now being; effaced. What has helped'towards the restoration of tho city - as,much as an.ything is the way the fire in-- •• surance companies have paid up."^