History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 99

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood
Number of Pages: 1206

USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions > Part 99

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City Hall lot ..

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adequate means for coming to a correct judgment. The Department is a government within itself, and it might be managed very badly for some time before the Council could become aware of it. The repairing of buildings that are almost new; the repainting of the Cole School House, so soon after its erection, are facts which indicate carelessness, neglect, or dishonesty somewhere. I cannot specify or charge anything wrong, but I allude to these appearances for the purpose of stimulating inquiry by the proper parties. Education is the foundation of our social and political system. It is essential to the well-being and existence of our free republic, and by generously devoting to it a proper share of our resources, we perform a high and patriotic duty. The high regard we all have for works of patriotism, education, religion, or charity often leads us to overlook defects through the too common fallacy that criticism must be hostile. The professed friends of an institution may sometimes place it in greater peril than could result from the active opposition of its enemies. This thought is sug- gested by the scandals which now fill the air relative to the sale of examination questions. As yet, the reputations of those connected with the schools of Oakland have not been injured, and we should all feel gratified that our city has been free from exposures that have carried consternation to so many other places. Here is an instance where the friends of the schools have, in some respects, been causing them harm. Perhaps our own citizens have not been sufficiently close in the investigation of the financial affairs of the department. We all want the best educational facilities that can be obtained; but it is also expected that they shall cost no more than they are reasonably and properly worth. We can approximate to that by instituting com- parisons with other cities where the schools are as nearly perfect as they can be made. The average cost per pupil for one year, including interest on permanent improve- ments, was $45-33; without interest, it was $29.82. This is less than in San Fran- cisco, where expenditures are supposed to be on even a more liberal scale than in Oakland, but higher than in nearly all other cities in America. Pride in the schools should not blind the judgment. When there is a fixed sum placed at the disposal of our Board of Education, however, it is a wrong upon the community to exceed it. The officers arc under the most solemn instructions that can be given to make use of just so much money to the best possible advantage, and all their plans must be shapcd accordingly. If the present schedule of salaries cannot be maintained, stern necessity should compel revision. There should not be a continued adherence to any policy which is known to be too expensive for the funds that are available. I believe that the general management of the schools has been efficient, and that there has been competent and intelligent supervision."

In treating of the Police Department his remarks are to the following effect :-

"W. F. Fletcher, Captain of Police, has prepared a very complete report of the workings of his department during the year. The standing of the department has been improved, its discipline is better, and there seems to be no reasonable cause for complaint as to its efficiency. The statistics have already been submitted to your honorable body. The reputation of a Police Department has great effect upon the order and quietness of any city. It is cheaper and easier to prevent crime than to detect it. The knowledge that policemen are vigilant and intelli- gent, and are present in the places where required, exerts a powerful influence in

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preventing the commission of crime. Temperate habits, cool and deliberate judg- ment, tact and shrewdness, combined with firmness and decision of character, are among the requirements of a police officer. Gentlemanly deportment, coupled with the ability to cope with unruly characters, are required. The number of arrests is not a test of efficiency, for that must, to a great extent, depend upon the respectability of the neighborhood in which an officer is stationed for duty. They should be chosen solely with reference to their fitness for the position. Appointments should not be a reward for political service, nor should they be conferred upon persons through con- siderations of family connection, or sympathy for those who may have failed in other pursuits. There should be a standard of health, age, and stature, to be applied to all new appointees. If unworthy men have been placed in positions, if there has been dishonesty, those who are guilty should be promptly removed; but their misdeeds should not be the occasion for the condemnation of men who are above such unworthy practices.

"There have been rumors that some of the laws governing the department have not been strictly enforced, but no definite charges have been brought to my attention. Thorough discipline is essential to efficiency, and the power of my office will be exerted to enforce it.

"Captain Fletcher recommends that the number of officers be increased from twenty-two to forty. I think that there should be, on an average, one policeman for each fifteen hundred of population, which would give us thirty men. This seems to be the rat o most commonly found in other cities. Every policeman should be, also, a detective. He should be charged with the investigation of crime occurring in his beat, which would increase his vigilance and be a stimulus to his ambition. It would develop the faculties of the men, and indicate those who, at the proper time, should be promoted to the highest department of police service.'

" Tenure of office should be secure. Officers who have long been in service, and who have made honorable records, should not be harassed by the fear that they may at any time be displaced by men who have not shown any merits superior to their own.

"The Captain of Police calls attention to the necessity of enlarging the City Prison. The basement of the City Hall should be filled with cells, built of brick and iron, instead of building only two iron ones. It might cost about three thousand dollars. Prisoners could be kept separate; boys and petty offenders would not be brought into contact with hardened criminals, an evil which is of enormous proportions in most citics. The overcrowding of jails is a too common act of inhumanity. Such an enlargement of the present prison will suffice for a number of years; but the time will come when a separate building will become necessary.

"There are objections to the special police system, but it is difficult to see why there should be any opposition to giving police authority to private watchmen whom the people may desire to employ. It would be unwise to entirely abolish the system, but there must be great care and discrimination in regulating it, on account of the liability to abuse. I have no doubt that there are times when the influence of the special police counteracts the efforts of our regular officers in ferreting out crime, but such cases are the exceptions, not the rule."

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He observes of the Fire Department, that most useful and efficient branch of the city government :--

"The Chief Engineer of the Fire Department has already submitted to you his annual report, which is a very complete and exhaustive document. He recommends the placing of hydrants in certain localities. It is the result of my observation that it is cheaper to erect hydrants near together than to buy hose; and that these sources of water for our engines should be so near to each other that in any possible case one reel of hose would be sufficient to reach the fire. In neighborhoods remote from engine-houses, it would be possible to extinguish incipient fires before the arrival of engines. Property-owners might procure hose of their own, to be used in such emer- gencies.

"The old Hook and Ladder apparatus in East Oakland would be of great use if a horse were purchased and a driver hired. The expense would not be much, and in a few minutes it might save thousands of dollars worth of property. East Oakland covers a large area; it has but one fire-engine, and it seems to me that it should have better means for extinguishing conflagrations.

" The house of Phoenix Engine Company, No. I, is not fit for the purpose for which it is used, and, instead of being located on a side street, it should be on some one of our prominent thoroughfares, and I would suggest San Pablo Avenue. A commodious structure should be erected so that ordinarily decent quarters may be provided, not only for the firemen, but for the horses. This improvement ought to be made at once. In this connection, I desire to make a suggestion in reference to salaries paid to fire- men. By comparison I find that they are forty per cent. lower in Oakland than in other cities on the Pacific Coast. In Oakland the engineers receive $60 per month; in San Francisco, $140; Sacramento and Virginia City, $100; and the same disparity exists as to the other employés. I think that the pay of our firemen is too small. They have to be ready for duty at all times, and I do not think that the compensation is fair. I would suggest a remodeling of the schedule of salaries so that the men may be paid what their services are reasonably worth. The fire-alarm apparatus, etc., in Oakland is probably more complete than in any other city in the United States. This is a very broad statement, but is fully justified by the municipal reports that come from all quarters. The automatic system is most complete, and the planning and operation of the fire-alarm telegraph reflects great credit upon Mr. Carleton, the Superintendent. It has been erected at a cost that seems nominal when compared with what is expended for similar purposes elsewhere. The efficiency of the Fire Department is largely due to the promptness with which the alarms are given."

On the subject of public improvements Mayor Andrus says :---

"In the opening portion of my message I intimated the great value of having a system for our street grades and sewers. Large numbers of lateral sewers have been constructed, and Lake Merritt has been connected with the bay by a main sewer. To preserve the high level of water in the lake, the construction of a permanent dam was necessary, and some seventeen thousand dollars have been expended during the last year. The building of a roadway was incidental to this. For years public money has been expended upon this work, and the results do not promise to be commensu- ate with the expenditures. In attempting to do this work cheaply, there has been a

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considerable waste of funds. Had this Council, in the beginning, projected an improvement ' that would have lasted for all time, it would have been the most economical course. Temporary work is rarely cheap or profitable.

"The City Hall has been rebuilt at a cost of about $22,000. It affords ample accommodations for the various city offices and is creditable to the city. It has been appropriately furnished, and there are suitable safeguards against future conflagra- tions. A convenient office has been fitted up for the Mayor, and I may here observe that I have kept ordinary office hours except when called to other parts of the city by public business. The necessity for this has been made evident by the great num- ber of persons who call to lodge information upon various matters of general interest, and also to ascertain points in which citizens are interested. I find that there is quite enough business to occupy the time of the Mayor for several hours each day in his office.

" The report of the City Engineer shows that there are thirty-eight miles of sewers in the streets of Oakland, excepting main lake sewer, which is two and one half miles long, and that there are fifty-one and one-half miles of macadamized streets. Last 'year the property-owners paid for sewers and grading and macadamizing $254, 140, which itemized, shows that twenty-four thousand feet of sewer-pipe was laid, or about four and one-half miles, costing $24,140.

"The length of streets macadamized, thirty-six thousand feet, or seven miles, costing $180,000; length of streets graded, forty thousand four hundred and forty- seven feet, or about eight miles, which cost $50,000; all of which speaks well for our property-owners, who are so liberal to improve our city. There is a resolution of the Council against macadamizing streets until sewer, gas, and water pipes are laid. This rule ought to be adhered to most rigidly; the damage caused by tearing up improved streets is very great; and it is a burden which should not be imposed upon property- holders.

" Plans and specifications for the main creek sewer have been submitted to the City Council. The work, if done, will be under an Act of the Legislature passed April 3, 1876. The cost is to be assessed upon property according to area, and is to be paid when the work is completed. This cost is not likely to be less than $300,- 000, and it is estimated that the charge upon a twenty-five foot lot will be something more than $31.00. The sewer will be three and one-third miles long, and it is designed to carry into the bay of San Francisco the sewerage of the part of Oakland capable of being drained into it. At present this sewerage is taken away by the tidal flow of the San Antonio Creek. The necessity for building the sewer now may be questioned, but I do not propose to discuss the reasons that may be given for or against it. I think that the improvement should not be made under such a law as we now have. The work ought to be done in small sections, so that there can be full competition among the great body of contractors, and property-holders should not be expected to pay so heavy an amount at one time. It would be almost ruin to hun- dreds of people who own property that does not yield large rents. The lake sewer was paid for by the proceeds of the sale of bonds, though its cost is only a trifle over half of the estimated cost of the present work. Besides the contractors would have to be kept out of their money for a long time, as it would take many months to do

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the work. They will be obliged to increase the amount of their bids so as to cover interest and contingencies. At the next session of the Legislature, there may be obtained a law more simple in its workings, and one which will provide for an easier mode of payment. If this work can be given out in sections, paid for as it progresses, the total cost will probably be less by forty or fifty thousand dollars, and the people can well afford to wait for a year to save that amount of money.

" There have been many complaints about the leakage from the main lake sewer at the bay end. I have examined into the matter, and am satisfied that the only remedy is to ceil it on the inside with tongue and groove lumber, covering the bottom and sides only. It would require about forty-two thousand feet of lumber, and, with the needed labor, would cost about $2,100. The street might be filled in, which would cost about $6,000. This would not, of course, prevent the leakage, but might counteract its effects. The health and comfort of a large community require that this should receive early attention.

"The Eighth-street Bridge has proven to be an important work. The streets connecting with it have been graded and macadamized, and a large amount of travel passes daily. It has exerted an appreciable effect upon real estate values."

In dealing with the Free Library his Honor states :-

" The Free Library is a new institution, and it is only becoming known that it is open to every resident of Oakland. The Secretary submits a report that shows the history and present condition of the library and reading-rooms. It will strike every one that the number of volumes is insignificant. Only four thousand books and a population of forty thousand people! There ought to be a large surplus over the amount needed for current expenses, to be used for the purchase of books. The Library is sadly deficient in works of a scientific nature, books pertaining to agricult- ure, and to mechanic arts. The Secretary does not report it, but it is understood that seventy or eighty per cent. of the circulation consists of works of fiction. As the collection becomes more comprehensive, this proportion will be reduced. There has been much complaint because tax-payers who live beyond the city limits are not allowed to draw books. It is but common justice that this rule should be reversed. I cannot too strongly commend the idea upon which our Library is based. The dif- fusion of intelligence among the people is an object of the highest importance. The benefits of free books and periodicals cannot be estimated in money. The city is wise in giving encouragement to the project, and if the management is discreet and economical, their institution will, in a few years, be Oakland's pride. Appropriations have been liberal, and we have the right to anticipate a grand success and to be an exemplar for other cities."

He treats of the all-absorbing topic of the Chinese population as follows :-

" No greater calamity ever befell the property-holders of San Francisco than the locating of the Chinese quarters in the very heart of the city. The district inhabited by Asiatics has been steadily increasing its boundaries, and a blight has fallen upon real estate, in what might have been a center of business. It is time that the author- ities of this city should take proper precautions, if possible, to prevent such a misfor- tune from occurring here. If the measures pending in Congress become enacted into laws, there will be a cessation of Chinese emigration; but our past experience leads us

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to be slow in building up expectations of this kind. We should proceed as if we knew that the Chinese were to continue coming, and do what we can to mitigate the evils that are threatening. The Council has the power to regulate such trades or occupa- tions as may be nuisances, and under its general police powers, it could regulate the location of laundries or wash-houses. In some neighborhoods they are nui- sances, while in others the people have no objection to them. It has often hap- pened that one of these establishments would be started in quiet neighborhoods, given up to residence purposes, which would seriously detract from the value of surrounding property. One individual should not have it in his power to depreciate the value of the real estate of others. The consent of at least a majority of the persons owning property in a block ought to be obtained before a license should be given for carrying on a laundry. I believe that the Council has the undoubted right to do this. It con- cerns the welfare of real estate owners, and would be a very great protection. As the wash-houses here are centers from which Chinese quarters are likely to extend, such a regulation as proposed would drive the Mongolian population to portions of the city where their presence would not depreciate the value of property. As a strictly sanitary regulation, all prisoners in the City Jail undergoing sentences should have their hair cut short. It is a rule dictated by constitutions of cleanliness, and one that has been enforced in many American prisons from time out of mind. It should not be violated through any plea of religion or superstition. Its result might be the pay- ment of fines by Chinese criminals, which is preferable to keeping them at public cost, and would be regarded by them as a more severe punishment. The presence of thesc people is in every way undesirable, and should be discouraged by every legal method, direct or indirect. Our own citizens cannot compete with them as laborers, because people who are American citizens are usually burdened with the responsibility of pro- viding for a wife and children, while the Chinese are not. Not only the more humble laborers, but the whole body of mechanics are theatened with pauperization. The fears of most of the capitalists are becoming aroused, because they see that the life and energy of the country depend upon the prosperity of the masses, who must meet the wants and gratify some of the tastes of civilized life. The hordes of Asiatics have not these wants and tastes. They are an incubus upon our development, and the public opinion of the nation is fast recognizing this fact.

"The pure air ordinance, it is believed, is not enforced in many cases to which it is intended to apply. The law is a good one, whether applied to Chinese or to white men, and I hope that greater attention will be given to it. The Chinese, it is notori- ous, are almost the only offenders, Caucasians not needing such law to compel them to observe one of the fundamental rules of health."

Of affairs on the water front he speaks in the following strain :-

" The City Wharfinger has submitted a report showing the amount of business transacted since it was built, in 1873. The steady increase in the amount of business is noteworthy as, lately, there have been built other wharves at which equally large quantities of merchandise are landed. The city wharf was first used in August, 1873, and its gross earnings have been $47,944.67. Its cost was $20,000. The losscs have aggregated only $270.20 for the entire period. A credit of thirty days is authorized, and certainly this number of bad bills has been astonishingly small. During the last

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year, a deep channel was dredged around it in response to a petition by merchants, fortified by the action of the Merchants' Exchange. Any ship that can cross the bar can now lay at the wharf without grounding during low tide. The rates of wharfage and dockage have been reduced, but are not yet on a level with those in San Fran- cisco. The charges for large vessels are about the same, the reduction effecting prin- cipally the small crafts. I do not think that harbor charges in Oakland should be greater than in San Francisco, for it is proverbial that the course of commerce may be changed by the scale of port charges.

" The city has power to regulate the anchorage of vessels and other matters, and I think that our local commerce is extensive enough to warrant the Council in taking some action in this matter. It need entail no extra expense, and would lessen the danger of collision and damage to public and private property. It might be proper to confer upon the Wharfinger the powers usually exercised by a Harbor Master.

"The improvement of the Oakland Harbor is a subject of paramount importance to our city. Officially, the Mayor has no connection with this matter, and possesses no information which is not common to the people. It is a matter of deep regret that parties owning the tide lands have not come to an agreement with the United States Government and executed an abandonment of the property needed. I believe that an adjustment of the controversy is near at hand, and that the city will suffer no longer from the delay. If it be not settled, the contest must be taken by the Government to the courts, and there would be long and vexatious delays. The value of the work already accomplished is very great, as ships of twelve and fifteen hundred tons now come into the harbor, saving the cost of rehandling freight in the bay. It will be a great step in advance when ships can be laden with wheat in the estuary, and will give a powerful impulse to the development of home business. This portion of the city fixes it as the railway terminus of the Pacific Coast, and it must, ultimately, have a large share of the general commerce of the State. Wonderful advances have been made and still greater changes are sure to come .. We do not expect to take anything from the prosperity of San Francisco, but we do have faith in the future of Oakland as a place of equal importance with the present metropolis. The aid of the Govern- ment is invaluable, and whenever it may suggest any practical measure to the Council to help along the project, it will be most heartily seconded. An imperfect knowledge of the plans of action, necessarily withheld by the Chief of Engineers, renders it impossible to make more extended reference to what is our most important interest."

Mr. Andrus then winds up his message with the following very apposite remarks on retrenchment, public economy, and concludes with a laudatory peroration on the Workingmen's Party of which he was the choice for the high office of Mayor of the city of Oakland.

" There is no patent remedy for municipal extravagances. There is not any one measure that will produce such a change as may be needed. Every officer, in all departments, must devote his attention to the smallest details, and see where it is pos- sible to retrench. There can be some retrenchment in the Police Department. The salaries received by officers exceed those paid to mechanics or men in quite responsi- ble clerical pursuits. I have already expressed my opinion of the high standard that should be required, but it is no higher than is expected of a master mechanic or the

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History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 99

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood Number of Pages: 1206

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood
Number of Pages: 1206