THE SAN FRANCISCO SCANDALS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13498, 27 May 1907, Page 6

THE SAN FRANCISCO SCANDALS.

[fBOM Orß OWN COBRESrOXDEST.]

San Francisco, April 22. In these April days it is difficult to tell whether San Francisco is * agit'ated more by the anniversary of her calamity of twelve months ago, the terrible exposures of municipal crime and corporation bribery, or the arrival of Bill Squires! To the casual reader this may seem lik» sarcasm. So deep-rooted are the affairs of the ring in the; minds of thousands of Californians that the visitor or resident would realise that, after all, the truth is stated in the opening sentence. A tugboat was engaged by the sporting fraternity to meet the Ventura, the newspapers have printed pages, about Squires, and he has had to pose so often for the photographers in order that his picture might appear in the papers that his manager has issued a solemn edict that' William will only face the camera between 11. and 11.30 o'clock in ; the forenoon. On the street one hears discussed the possible opponents of the Australian boxer. •' A few years ago a four-round fight was held in San Francisco between men of renown with the gloves. The society people stopping at the Hotel Del Monte, a famous resort 100 miles south of the metropolis, made arrangements to have electric bells rung in their rooms at the completion of the bout. .The number of peals were agreed upon beforehand, so that at midnight the guests were awakened to learn whether Mr. Sharkey had succeeded in destroying Mr. Corbett's ■ classic features, or vice versa !' And yet we know that the world is growing —that civilising influences predominate. Strange things happen to arm the pessimists with arguments. MUNICIPAL CORRUPTION. The investigation is proceeding into corruption and the crimes men commit for money. Several prominent citizens have been indicted by the grand jury for bribing city officials. It looks as -though the corporation men, for the first time in their history, are likely to find that it is just as much a crime to give a bribe as to take one. The prison gates loom dangerously near for more than one clubman and society favourite. So thorough is the work of the investigators that it will take a long time to purify civic affairs. It looks as though the supervisors will be given what is termed the immunity bath," in return for their confessions. There is some doubt in the matter, for the district attorney's office is not giving out full information. The method adopted so far is to permit the ? supervisors to attend to the business of their offices under the direct supervision of the public prosecutors. It is claimed that should the corrupt officials . be removed at' this time the Mayor would have the power, under the Charter, to appoint the : successors, and possibly the second selection might be equal in morals with the incumbents. The latter now do exactly as they are told. They realise that disobedience means indictment, and a sure journey "over the bay" to the State's prison. It is a remarkable situation. The forces for good will surely win a deserved victory. ...:...' ;. ■ . . There is one.fact clearly established. In the days to come the corporations who have bribed municipal authorities from time immemorial will, remember the year 1907, for high officials will be sentenced to the penitentiary for what has long been considered legitimate .game. The prosecutors consider the rich bribe-givers as more dangerous t* the community than the bribe-takers. This is. a' reversal of accepted' doctrine. It will be interesting to . ascertain how the . new method succeeds. The trials of Mayor Schmitz and Abe Ruef have not taken place. < Legal delays block court proceedings. To the British mind it is truly a mystery. The Ruef case has proceeded so far ,that a jury is now under process of empanelment. It will; be weeks, before twelve men are finally selected. '.The jurymen will ;be subjected to severe cross-examination, and. challenges will be frequent. They, will be. asked whether they know members of the prosecution or of the defence. Every question known to skilled legal minds trained in a maze of technicalities will be hurled at the " tried and true.". Particular stress will be laid on prejudice. ~ It is impossible for men not to have some convictions on a matter of such pressing public moment. ' GRAFT. ' The word "graft" has a different meaning the United States to the accepted interpretation in the colonies. The dictionary here gives cne of the meanings as "unlawful perquisites; petty boodle." In America ; it doesn't mean hard work—far from it. Exactly the opposite is conveyed by the term "graft." It is applied especially to those in office who receive money for favours granted?— for the operation of street railroads, special privileges for corporations, and the like. In contradistinction to the highwayman or petty thief, the "grafter" imagines that his "easy money" is, if not legitimate; at least'a; customary; perquisite, forgetful of the fact that he violates • public "trust and robs the community. ANNIVERSARY OF THE EARTH- " '.'}'''. .' QUAKE. "' Beautiful weather was apportioned San Francisco and her Bay cities on April 18. There remains little evidence of the historic event of twelve months ago, outside, of course, the burned district. The nervous inhabitant was awake early on the morning of the 18th, for some predicted a; repetition of the fateful shock, and the associations of the anniversary were such ' that the thoughts of men and women wandered back. The first fifteen minutes after five o'clock of.the spring morning passed quietly by, thus reassuring those who were fearful, and . showing the ;," predictors"that' the inscrutable ways of Provideace are unknown to them.

.. A brief glance at the work performed in rebuilding San Francisco may not be out of place. The showing is remarkable, especially: when it is considered that for several weeks after the fire little or nothing was done. Prosperity is clearly shown by the issuance of permits to spend about 60,000,000 dollars on new buildings during the twelve months. (The figures. were 58,152,656 a few days before April I§.) Real estate sales , have approximated 32,000,000 dollars, and property is everywhere held at higher rates than before the fire.- The transfers in March totalled 4,100,000. The imports of San Francisco for the seven months ending on January 1, 1907, were 31,375,715 dollars, as against 25,253,110 for the seven months of the preceding year. The bank clearings for twelve months were 1,947,544,903.49 dollars, as against 1,834,549,788.51 dollars for the entire calendar vear of 1905, an increase of 112,995,114.98 dollars. ', The Customs receipts for November, December, January, February, and March just passed were 4,124,679.6, as against 3,465,330.91 in the same months of the year before. Fifty thousand workmen are labouring in the building trades alone. Over ten thousand carpenters are enrolled in the unions of their craft. Other callings have increased in proportion. San Francisco has all the skyscrapers she had before the fire, and permits for about thirty others have been granted sincethirty big buildings of Class A construction, and as fine as they can be made by money and! men. Fiftynine miles of streets made impassable, by debris were cleared. More than 200 miles of. street railways, rendered imperative because of warped rails and falling walls, were restored to use. Thousands :of tons of stone and brick and twisted steel were removed. The bill for the removal of the debris of the Palace Hotel calls for .92,000 dollars. The new Palace will represent an outlay of 3,500,000 dollars.

Is there any wonder that an optimistic feeling prevails? The merchants festooned the principal business thoroughfare with electric lights on the evening of April 18. Bands supplied musical programmes. The streets were crowded with well-dressed citizens. The steel framework standing above the ruins of the City Hall was wired, and its illumination was at. once pathetic and an advertisement that San Francisco stands undaunted on the Pacific Const that her rehabilitation is assured, and her future alluring.