USA > California > Alameda County > Past and present of Alameda County, California, Volume II > Part 3
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
March, 1906, when he formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Mr. Langan, under the firm name of Langan & Mendenhall. They have built up a large and lucrative practice, specializing in corpora- tion law and in mining and land cases. Mr. Mendenhall has become an expert in this branch of his profession and his opinions are con- sidered authority on all matters pertaining thereto. The firm has had charge of some very important cases and represents fourteen large mining companies and eight manufacturing companies, includ- ing the Electric Amalgamation Company, the original Amador Mines Company, the Omega Gold Mining Company and the Es- meralda Land Company of Nevada. Mr. Mendenhall has also large interests in mining companies in this part of California and is known as a progressive and farsighted business man.
In June, 1903, he married Miss Florence E. Hatch, a native of Oakland, and they have two children : Edwin, aged six; and Sally, aged three. Mr. Mendenhall is a member of the Masonic fraternity and prominent in its affairs. He is not active in politics, preferring to concentrate his attention upon his profession, of which he is today .a leading and successful representative.
STANLEY J. SMITH.
The California bar numbers among its representatives no more able, prominent and successful lawyer than Stanley J. Smith, now practicing in Oakland as a member of the firm of Bell, Bell & Smith. He was born in Downieville, Sierra county, California, December 30, 1879, and is a son of Stanley A. and Anna C. (Neilson) Smith. In the acquirement of an education he attended public school in his native community until he was fifteen years of age and then came to Oakland, where he entered the high school, graduating in 1898. He was afterward a student in the University of California and received his degree from that institution in 1903. Having determined to make the practice of law his life work, he attended Hastings Col- lege of the Law in San Francisco, graduating in 1905 and being immediately afterward admitted to the bar by the supreme court.
He began the practice of his profession in San Francisco and there remained until January, 1906, when he moved to Oakland, becoming a partner with Harmon Bell in the firm of Bell, Bell & Smith, a connection which he still maintains. His farsighted and discriminating work has been an important factor in making this
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
one of the strongest and most reliable firms of its kind in the city, connected through a representative and extensive patronage with a great deal of important litigation. Mr. Smith himself is a forceful and able lawyer possessed of a comprehensive knowledge of under- lying professional principles, and, being energetic and able in his presentation of his cases, he has developed a large and growing clientage and his ability makes him very successful in its conduct.
In Oakland, in June, 1907, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Genevieve Costa and they have two children : Margaret. aged four; and Stanley Campbell, aged two months. Mr. Smith is a stanch republican in politics and is an active member of the Athenian Club. His career has been marked by continuous advancement in a difficult profession, one in which success can come only as a result of superior merit and ability.
MELVIN C. CHAPMAN.
Among the strong and reliable legal firms in Oakland is num- bered that of Chapman & Trefethen, and its senior member, Melvin C. Chapman, has long been accounted one of the most progressive . and able representatives of the California bar. Along with profes- sional success he has also won prominence in politics and his inter- ests have extended to many other fields touching closely the general advancement of the community.
He was born in Westfield, Illinois, September 5, 1850, and is a son of Charles de Grasse and Cynthia (Palmer) Chapman, both representatives of well known American families. One of his pater- nal ancestors, Robert Chapman, came from England in 1637 and was among the first settlers at Saybrook, Connecticut, the homestead upon which he lived being still in possession of the family. Others of Mr. Chapman's forebears served under Oliver Cromwell and sev- eral were conspicuous in the Revolutionary war, the War of 1812 and in the Civil war. Members of this family have been prominent in commercial, professional and political life, winning success as mer- chants, ministers and lawyers.
Melvin C. Chapman acquired his early education in the public schools of Chicago, which he attended from 1856 until 1867. He was graduated from Onarga Seminary in Illinois in 1870 and three years later came to California. He established himself in the real-estate business in San Francisco, whence he moved his residence to Oakland
MELVIN C. CHAPMAN
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
in 1876. Six years later he disposed of all his business interests in San Francisco and began the study of law. After he was admitted to the bar he formed a partnership with Roscoe Havens under the firm name of Chapman & Havens, an association which was dissolved after eight months, Mr. Chapman continuing alone. In June, 1910, he formed a partnership with E. E. Trefethen and they are still associated under the name of Chapman & Trefethen. In the office of this firm is transacted some of the most important legal business heard in the courts of California, for the partners control a large and representative clientage, both being strong, forceful and able prac- titioners. Mr. Chapman has won for himself an enviable place at the bar of the state and his success is the direct result of his ability and energy. He is president of the Oakland Bar Association and is held in high respect and honor by the members of the legal fraternity.
In Oakland, on the 21st of December, 1887, Mr. Chapman was united in marriage to Miss Lillian M. Childs, and they became the parents of one son, Melvin C., Jr. Mrs. Chapman has passed away.
Mr. Chapman gives his political allegiance to the republican party and takes an active interest in public affairs. In 1887 he served for one term as a member of the state legislature and he has been mayor of Oakland, giving to the city a constructive and progressive administration. He is president of the Tribune Publishing Company and belongs to the Athenian Club. He is an enterprising and pro- gressive citizen, who takes a commendable interest in public affairs, and along professional lines he has met with that success which is the natural result of merit and ability.
OAKLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT.
Oakland may well point with pride to its fire department which under the able direction of its chief, N. A. Ball, is today one of the best managed, most perfectly equipped and most adequate public service enterprises in California. In addition to this the fire-fighting force is composed of men of more than ordinary ability and intelli- gence, and the entire department maintains a standard of efficiency not equaled in this part of the state.
There has been a remarkable growth in the department during the last ten years, for in 1903 there were only six engine companies and two truck companies, whereas today there are seventeen engine and five truck companies and a permanent working force of two
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
hundred and ninety men headed by Chief Ball, who is aided by two assistant chiefs and two battalion chiefs. The fire department has also three chemical and hose companies and two chemical companies provided with eight pieces of automobile apparatus and fourteen steamers. A salt-water, high-pressure fire protection system has recently been placed in operation, being designed as an auxiliary to the other fire-fighting facilities in a restricted area in which the number of fire streams required is greater than is demanded in the surrounding sections of the city. The pumping plant of the system supplies these additional streams and the design provides that as the restricted area increases the salt-water mains may be extended. Hose streams are taken directly from hydrants on the high-pressure mains, so that no steamers are required. Dependence for a supply for fighting ordinary fires is placed on the existing fresh-water system of mains, and the salt water pumping plant stands idle except when called on in emergencies. Damage to the contents of a building by salt water thus is avoided in all except large fires. The pumping plant is in a park on the shore of Lake Merritt, a body of salt water connected with San Francisco bay, and is at a distance of about one and one-quarter miles from the center of the area in which the mains of the salt-water system have been laid. Including the force main leading to the edge of that area, twelve thousand feet of mains are in service, protection thus being provided to sixty blocks of business property. An additional five thousand three hundred and forty feet of mains, including fire-boat connection on the water front, has been installed and the scheme for the system contemplates that mains eventually will cover an area of one and one-half square miles.
The mechanical equipment of the pumping plant embraces two two hundred and fifty horsepower gas engines, each connected to a four-stage turbine pump. The two units are capable of delivering ten fire streams of two hundred gallons per minute each, against pressure of two hundred pounds per square inch. The specifications require that within two minutes of the time an alarm is given, five of the streams should be delivered and the additional five within two minutes of the call on the station. These requirements have been reduced by actual service so that one pump is placed in operation in thirty seconds and the second within two minutes. Recent tests showed that two pumps delivered twenty-four hundred gallons per minute through two hundred and fifty feet of hose in the center of the business area with eighty pounds nozzle pressure. The pressure on the mains at the pumps is two hundred pounds per square inch. The plans contemplate an additional engine and pump, which will be
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1131898 HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
used as a spare unit, or to increase the capacity of the plant fifty per cent during a conflagration. In the design of the pumping plant and the arrangement of the distribution mains, the suggestions of the engineers of the Board of Underwriters of the Pacific were followed.
The pumping station, which is also a park building, is a one- story reinforced concrete structure, sixty-four by eighty feet in plan and seventeen feet high to the eaves line, which is treated architectur- ally to harmonize with its surroundings. The exterior walls were given a plaster finish. The roof is of the low, Spanish type, with a covering of red tile on steel trusses. The ground around the build- ing was graded to bring the latter naturally into the landscape, the effect secured being particularly satisfactory. The interior of the building also is finished in keeping with the exterior treatment. The building is divided into five rooms, one, forty-six by forty-six and five-tenths feet in plan, that contains the mechanical equipment, an engineer's room, a storeroom, and two public toilet rooms, with a sixteen foot porch on both sides. The pump of each main unit draws water from a separate screen chamber in a section well under the floor of the room. This well is built to provide for the installation of a third unit and is connected with the adjacent lake by means of a four by four foot concrete conduit extending twenty feet off shore into ten feet of water. The suction pipe of each pump is provided with a double flap foot valve designed to hold a pressure of two hundred and fifty pounds to the square inch. The discharge of both pumps has an eight-inch connection to a fourteen-inch force main laid on the floor at the end of the room and over the suction well. Each of these connections is provided with a check valve, which prevents the return of water to the pump in case the latter goes out of commission sud- denly. Beyond this check valve is a gate valve provided to permit the pump to be cut off when desired, without interfering with the operation of the other unit. The valves by means of which the mains are divided into sections are in brick manholes having cast-iron tops and covers. They are of extra weight and are designed for the high- pressure salt water service, under a working head of two hundred and twenty-five pounds to the square inch. They have cast iron bodies, with bell connections, except for special lengths. Their double gates are independently adjustable and are arranged so the central pressure is removed entirely and the disks freed from their seats before being raised. All working parts of the valves, including the entire gate disk and all contact surfaces, are of bronze of a special composition selected to resist wear and corrosion by salt or brackish water, the wedging surface on the spreader being of harder bronze
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
than those on the disks. The upper end of the spreader nuts and the inner surface of the top of the valve case are finished to a close fit when the valve is fully open, so that only slight leakage occurs when the stuffing box is repacked without shutting down the valves.
A flush hydrant is placed at every street intersection in the area protected by the high-pressure mains. The hydrants are each in a concrete manhole built at one side of the main and below the surface of the street, a location being selected in each case as near the center of the street intersection as possible. This type of hydrant was chosen because any possibility of damage to a hydrant by a wagon or other vehicle striking it was eliminated. These hydrants also avoid the difficulty occasionally experienced with the usual type of post hydrant, placed behind the curb at the corners of a street intersec- tion, being rendered unsafe for use during a fire in an adjoining building. The hydrant manholes each have a cast iron cover, so that any part of the hydrant may be repaired or replaced without disturbing the surface of the street. The cover also is of such design that two men can lift it with ease. The fact that no frost occurs in Oakland, of course, should be borne in mind, since this condition per- mitted the employment of a hydrant of this type. Each hydrant has a manifold of eight-inch pipe which is connected inside of the man- hole to the main. A valve on this connection is provided with a hand wheel in the manhole, placed where it can be reached and operated readily. The quarter-turn on which the manifold is mounted is carried by a cast iron chair anchored to the bottom of the manhole. The blank flanges on the ends of the manifold also are both fastened to brackets embedded in the sides of the manhole. Five three-inch hose connections are attached to the manifold by means of flanges. Each connection is provided with a gate valve so it may be operated independently. The manifold not only permits a quite satisfactory arrangement of these connections, but also reduces the loss of friction in the hydrants to a minimum. On each hydrant is a four-inch connection, by means of which standpipes for buildings can be supplied through a pipe laid underground and provided at the hydrants with gate valves. These standpipes have hose connec- tions at the sidewalk which are left open for use with fire engines and fresh water. The connection with the high-pressure system is made at the base of the standpipe, so the one above it can be left open without interference. Since the hydrants are ordinarily only two hundred and eighty feet apart on the mains, it was considered better to make the standpipe connections at them, where they are readily found, rather than along the main between the hydrant.
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
The total cost of the high-pressure fire protection system, embrac- ing the pumping plant and the twelve thousand feet of mains that were laid under the first contract, was ninety-five thousand dollars. This amount included approximately four thousand five hundred dollars for the replacement of pavements in the streets in which the main had to be laid. The cost of the pumping station building also was somewhat higher than would ordinarily be incurred under most conditions, amounting to a total of twenty-three thousand dollars. The contract for the entire mechanical equipment amounted to twenty-eight thousand dollars and included all of the apparatus in the station.
The Oakland Fire Department is under the supervision of Chief N. A. Ball, one of the most able firemen in Alameda county, who, with the exception of four years, has in the thirty-three years since 1880 been continuously a member of the department. He is a native of San Francisco and in 1862, when he was three years of age, moved with his family to Oakland, where he was reared and educated. Fol- lowing the completion of his studies he engaged in the grocery business for a number of years and while still retaining this connec- tion joined the Oakland Fire Department in 1880 as call man. Advancement came rapidly. In 1889 he was made assistant chief and on the 29th of March, 1898, was appointed chief. He still holds this responsible and important position, and his success is unques- tioned, being evidenced in the excellent condition of the fire depart- ment and in its growth and improvement along all lines.
JOSEPH W. BINGAMAN.
One of the most prominent and enterprising young attorneys of Oakland is Joseph W. Bingaman, practicing as a member of the firm of Reed, Black, Nusbaumer & Bingaman. He was born in Salinas, California, on the Ist of March, 1881, and is a son of W. H. and Isabella Bingaman. His early education was acquired in the public schools of his native community and in 1898 he went to Berkeley, where he entered the high school, graduating in 1900. He afterward became a student in the University of California, re- ceiving his bachelor's degree from that institution in 1904, after which he took up the study of law, graduating from the legal depart- ment of the State University in 1908 with the degree of Doctor of Law (J. D.). In the same year he began the practice of his pro-
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
fession as a clerk with the firm of Reed, Black & Reed, but he proved such a strong and able practitioner that in 1912 he was admitted to the firm, the name being then Reed, Black. Reed & Bingaman, since which time Clarence Reed has retired and Emil Nusbaumer become a member, the firm name now being Reed, Black, Nusbaumer & Bingaman. This is one of the most important law firms in Oakland, connected through its extensive practice with a great deal of notable litigation, and its junior member has proven himself fully up to the high standards which have always distinguished its other repre- sentatives. Mr. Bingaman specializes in probate and real-estate law and trial work and for the past five years has also been acting as attorney for George Gray, public administrator.
Mr. Bingaman together with his copartners is also associated with Charles F. Lee of Fruitvale and Walter A. Clark of San Francisco in the ownership and subdivision of a tract of land containing about eight thousand acres in Fresno county. The land is adapted espe- cially to the growth of alfalfa and is one of the largest irrigation projects in Fresno county.
In Oakland on the 8th of September, 1909, Mr. Bingaman was united in marriage to Miss Genevieve Kimball, and they have be- come the parents of two children: Jean, aged three and one-half years; and Geraldine, one year and six months. Fraternally Mr. Bingaman is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Masonic order and the Phi Delta Phi, and gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He belongs to the Methodist church and has done active and helpful work as a member of the Oakland Commercial Club. He is still a young man, but his ability has carried him forward into important professional relations and his many friends do not hesitate to predict for him continued and rapid progress in his chosen field.
GEORGE E. SLEEPER.
George E. Sleeper, a representative of a well known pioneer family of California, prominently connected with business interests of Oakland as manager of the Oakland Clearing House Association, was born in this state in 1874. His father, Charles Sleeper, a native of Maine, came to California in 1861 and for a time mined at Co- lumbia, Tuolumne county. He is now manager of the San Francisco Clearing House. George E. Sleeper's grandfather, W. O. Sleeper.
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
was one of the earliest settlers in this state, having arrived here in 1851. He was one of the first bankers in California, conducting a bank at Columbia.
George E. Sleeper acquired his education in the public schools of San Francisco and later engaged in the electrical business in Oak- land. During the last eighteen years he has been connected with the clearing house business in San Francisco and Oakland and a great deal of his present success is due to his wide experience and detailed knowledge. When the Oakland Clearing House Association was organized in 1906 Mr. Sleeper was chosen its manager, and this position he has filled with credit and ability since that time. He occupies an enviable position in business circles of the city as a man whose sagacity is far-reaching and whose integrity is beyond question.
GEORGE J. MCDONOUGH.
Actively connected with a profession which has important bear- ing upon the progress and stable prosperity of any section or com- munity and one which has long been considered as conserving the public welfare by furthering the ends of justice and maintaining individual rights, George J. McDonough has won success as a law- yer, practicing before the bar of Oakland.
He is one of California's native sons, his birth having occurred in Eureka on the 8th of February, 1879, his parents being John and Margaret McDonough. In the public schools he pursued his edu- cation until sixteen years of age, after which he matriculated at St. Mary's College in Oakland, graduating therefrom in 1902. His legal training was acquired at Hastings College of Law, which he attended for a year and eight months, and then, with wide general information and careful preparation, he was admited to the bar of the supreme court. He did not at once, however, embark upon his professional career as a lawyer but accepted a position as instructor at the Sacred Heart College of San Francisco, which he capably and efficiently filled until April, 1906, when he resigned. Since that year he has been engaged in active practice in Oakland, making a specialty of criminal law, and his success in a professional way affords the best evidence of his capabilities in this line. He is a strong advocate with the jury and concise in his appeals before the court and he has won for himself most favorable criticism for the
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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
careful and systematic methods which he follows in the conduct of his cases.
Mr. McDonough was married in San Francisco on the 14th of June, 1908, to Miss Syd Frances Reidy, and they are well known and popular in the social circles of Oakland. Mr. McDonough belongs to the Catholic church and his political views are in accord with the principles of the republican party. He is yet numbered among the younger generation of practitioners in this city but, pos- sessing the qualities of an able lawyer, he has already established a good practice in the line of his specialty, his increasing reputation bringing him more and more into connection with litigation of an important and distinctively representative character.
HON. FREDERICK S. STRATTON.
Hon. Frederick S. Stratton, member of the Oakland bar, has de- voted much of his life to public service and over his record there falls no shadow of wrong nor suspicion of evil. He stands as a high type of American manhood, citizenship and chivalry and he has been termed "one of the most eminent and popular attorneys in Califor- nia." The state is proud to number him among her native sons. His entire life having been passed on the Pacific coast, he is thoroughly familiar and in sympathy with every phase of life that means prog- ress, development and upbuilding in this section. He was born in Oakland in 1859, when this city, now of large and attractive propor- tions, was of comparatively little importance. He has been an inter- ested witness of its development and along various lines has contrib- uted to its progress. After attending the old Swett grammar school and the Oakland high school he entered the University of California and was graduated therefrom in the class of 1881, winning high hon- ors. He may well be said to be a self-educated as well as self-made man, as it was his own effort that made it possible for him to secure the university course. While pursuing his studies he set type in a newspaper office, earning from eighteen to twenty-five dollars per month, and thus met his expenses.
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