USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > San Francisco, a history of the Pacific coast metropolis, Volume II > Part 13
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Fear of Innovation
But this result, bad as it was, did not remotely approach in its injurious effects the evil worked by the fear of innovation, and the creation of the sentiment that it is better to stand some things than to be continually fussing about them. And
Swing of the Political Pendulum
HARBOR VIEW AS IT APPEARED IN 1876 The photograph was taken from Russian Hill
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this bred the indifference to which Bryce pointed, and which was aptly illustrated by the fact that in so important a matter as the adoption of a new charter for the City in 1883, not more than one-third of the qualified voters went to the polls. It is not extraordinary in the presence of such apathy that the bosses should have undertaken the work which the citizens neglected; nor is it strange that political "heelers" should have taken advantage of the power which the indifference of the community had enabled them to usurp to line their own purses while permitting others to profit improperly at the expense of the taxpayer.
San Francisco, like the other cities of the country, always had its bosses. They were probably no worse than those of other places much less talked about, but they sometimes possessed qualities which distinguished them from the general run of grafters. It is doubtful, however, whether any boss the City has produced, no matter how spectacular his career, could have taught those who manipulated the municipal affairs of New York and Philadelphia any new form of robbery of the taxpayer, not even Chris. Buckley, whose bare-faced villainies went on unchecked for years chiefly because the people had become tired of "fussing." For some years after the adoption of the Consolidation Act, the occupation of the political boss had become unprofitable because of the continuance of the very undemocratic plan of depriving the people of the right to select their own officials, which had been inaugurated by the Vigilantes. The candidates of the people's party were nominated in a back room by a committee of trusted citizens and were voted for cheerfully, and without a thought on the part of the voter that he had been de- prived of an important privilege. He was merely looking for results, and not thinking of theories of government. When the citizen found that the men chosen by the committee acting in secret had reduced expenditures he was satisfied. That was the good government test applied by the average voter of the period between 1856 and 1870, and somehow or other it was less productive of thieving bosses than the democratic plan.
But the Consolidation Act contained the germ of a trouble which soon developed into an abuse. It was a rigid document constantly demanding legislative action to make it meet the growing requirements of the City, and this created a real or fancied necessity on the part of city officials of going to Sacramento to secure spe- cial legislation. This practice, as already stated, was animadverted upon by Mayor Bryant, in a message to the board of supervisors in 1876, with considerable sever- ity, but his criticism was not accompanied by details. As a matter of fact the condition was much worse than he represented. It was not an unusual thing for a city official during the session of the legislature to spend the major part of his time about the capitol, and while in Sacramento he was not always occupied with efforts to secure legislation for his particular office. Not infrequently his principal work was pushing the interests of the railroad which, during the early Seventies, was demanding a great deal from the people.
It was through this loop hole that Sam Rainey, who subsequently developed into a boss, became a full fledged lobbyist. The abundant leisure he enjoyed, and the fact that he was on the City's payroll made him a useful and not over-expensive servant of the corporation. When he began his career as a "practical" politician the ward system of electing supervisors was in vogue, and the boss developed was in. consequence a man of smaller caliber than the later product who had to consider
Political Bosses of San Francisco
Consolidation Act Promotes Lobbying
The Day of the Small Boss
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the problem of controlling the entire City. Rainey was a man adapted to a small part and never stood very high in the esteem of the railroad managers. He held a position in the fire department and could be depended upon to deliver a certain number of votes at an election, and had superior qualifications as a manipulator of primaries, because he had at his command a number of men who were made to feel that their positions were dependent on his favor. His chief duty as a lobbyist was to keep the contingent in the legislature subject to corporation blandishments toeing the mark. This task was not always an easy one, for at times the feeling against the railroad ran so high that the venal group would be cowed into submission.
The Real Boss in San Francisco
The real boss of San Francisco at this period and for many years afterward, was the railroad, and its principal agent was W. W. Stow, the chief adviser of the Central Pacific in political matters. There was no ambiguity about the position of Stow, and it is indicative of the spirit of the times that he was, rather proud of his calling, and that the community did not look upon and execrate him as they did his successor. It was possible in the early Eighties for a chaplain of the leg- islature to write eulogistically of Stow and speak of him as a man of probity of character. This biographer declared that "the railroad complains that it is com- pelled to employ agencies that will secure it against hostile and oppressive legisla- tion, and procure remedial legislation when needed. Mr. Stow," he said, "is charged with the duty indicated." And he added: "It is admitted universally that Mr. Stow wields a tremendous power in general politics, and in matters committed to him as the political adviser of the Central Pacific Company."
Stow, by virtue of his position of political manager of the Southern Pacific, became the boss of San Francisco, although he did not exercise his functions in the same fashion as Buckley, and some of the lesser political manipulators, whose job- bing had for its object direct personal gain. Stow was a salaried official of the corporation, and his status as a lawyer gave his operations an air of respectability which was lacking in that of the others. The latter were in reality his agents and worked under his orders, and that accounts for the fact that party ties in San Francisco bound the minor bosses of the City very loosely, for while they were nominally democrats or republicans, they were always railroad men, and could be trusted to work together to carry out any project which would inure to the benefit of the corporation, or advance the personal fortunes of its managers. Stow was undoubtedly an efficient manipulator, and to his efforts more than those of any other man was due the cohesiveness of the corporations by which municipal reform was blocked. Stow was also credited with the prevision which resulted in the men connected with the Central Pacific securing the franchises which enabled the Mar- ket Street Railway Company to create a system which penetrated all parts of the City, but justice demands that the fact be recognized that when the privileges were accorded the community considered that it would be the beneficiary rather than the men upon whom they were conferred.
The great scandals growing out of the relations of Spring valley and the community did not occur until after the Constitution of 1879 conferred upon the board of supervisors the power of establishing rates. But prior to that time there were numerous efforts made to sell the water system to the City, in several of which the railroad participated by indirection. The political alliance between the two corporations, however, did not attract much attention until, to use the language of
Small Caliber Bosses
W. W. Stow's Political Career
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Stow's biographer, "they were compelled to employ agencies to secure them- selves against hostile and oppressive legislation." These agencies were the little bosses until the ward system was superseded by the election of supervisors at large. Rainey has been mentioned as one of these, and about the same time Owen Brady and Jack Mannix were prominent in the manipulation of the democratic machine. Kelly and Crimmins, a pair of saloonkeepers, were more or less conspicuous in the underground work carried on in the interest of the republican party, but they did not count for much as the star of the local democracy was rising, and the promises of the success of that party were holding out inducements to the cunningest and most corrupt politician the West ever produced to assume its headship.
Brady and Mannix were men of small caliber. The former was a hackman, with a stand at the old Lick house, and the latter kept a saloon on Market street. Brady was an adroit manipulator on a small scale. He was not very popular as the trifling degree of power he possessed upset him and caused him to become very arrogant, and especially so to those who when aspirants for office sought his assistance. Mannix was a rough and ready fellow, not indisposed to maintain his supremacy by force of arms and held his following largely by the admiration they felt for his fistic prowess. Neither of the pair profited greatly by their political cxertions, though they were for a time recognized as being in absolute control of that part of the City known as "the Front," which did not ask for skilful leaders. Although called bosses they were in fact merely a pair of men each able to deliver "a bunch of. votes" and were dealt with as such by the repre- sentative of the railroad, which was the real boss at the time.
When Buckley appeared on the scene Brady and Mannix had to succumb to his cleverness. This man, one of the most extraordinary politicians ever produced in this or any other city, was born in Ireland and emigrated to America while still a boy. He first resided in New York, but after a few years of metropolitan expe- rience he made his way to Vallejo and opened a saloon which was frequented by the sailors of the ships lying at the navy yard. At that time Buckley professed to be a republican and was secretary of the Republican County Committee of Solano. In his youth Buckley was a dissipated man and his health was under- mined by his excesses. One of the results of his early indiscretions was an affliction of the eyes which destroyed his sight. He was not totally blind, but he could not see to read or write, nor did he dare to entrust himself on the street, or attempt to cross one without a guide. He could distinguish forms, and was even able to tell whether a person was dark or fair. When he consulted oculists and was told by them that the cause of his affliction was due to indulgence in liquor he at once ceased drinking and became temperate in other respects.
In 1880 Buckley came to San Francisco and entered into partnership with a man named Fallon, who ran a saloon on Bush street which soon became a resort for ward heelers and "sports about town." It is doubtful whether Buckley delib- erately entered upon his career. The probabilities favor the belief that he "found himself" in the course of prosecuting an ambition which he entertained of securing a monopoly of the gambling privilege in San Francisco. Before he concluded to make San Francisco the field of his operations he had visited the City and famil- iarized himself with the situation, and believed that with the aid of the police it would be possible to drive out of business, and from the City, all the so-called
They Could Deliver Votes
The Blind Boss, Chris Buckley
Buckley's Early Ambitions
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"tin horn" gamblers, and conduct what he called "a respectable establishment." He failed in this object, but in the course of his investigations he made the acquaint- ance of Fallon and effected the arrangement above referred to, and as part pro- prietor of the saloon soon established relations with its frequenters and gained a knowledge of the seamy side of municipal life which his peculiar talents permitted him to· coin into money.
Buckley Prepares for Leadership
The story of Buckley's depredations belongs to the next period. It was not until 1882 that he became a considerable factor in municipal politics. He was well known to the newspaper men who sought the Bush street saloon for political information, and his name occasionally crept into the columns of the daily papers without, however, creating any considerable impression. Rainey, Brady and Man- nix were much more spoken about at that time as manipulators of democratic local politics, and Bill Higgins was considered the shrewdest republican soldier of fortune. Kelly and Crimmins were occasionally heard of, but they were not "dignified" by the title boss. When thought of at all it was as ward "heelers" with the ability to concentrate a part of the "push" on a particular object and were rated accordingly in corrupt political circles.
The only boss produced by San Francisco whose accomplishments are at all comparable with those of Buckley was Broderick. The two men were vastly dis- similar in character, but resembled each other in their ability to organize and con- trol men by devious methods. Broderick's devotion to the Union cause has blinded many to his faults, and their evil consequences, and he has had panegyrists who have spoken of his personal integrity, but no one will ever be found to lift his voice to proclaim any good quality possessed by the Blind Boss of San Francisco who for nearly a decade ruled the political destinies of the City, controlled conventions and the legislature and actually aspired to national honors, an ambition he might have realized if a sudden awakening had not exposed his putridity to the people and compelled him to flee the country.
It has been assumed that the conditions which made the reign of Boss Buckley possible were the outcome of the disorganization of the democratic party, due to the sand lot upheaval. It cannot be overlooked that it was through his exertions that the democratic organization was restored to power in the City. There is no inten- tion to convey the impression that the democratic party was in any sense responsible for Buckley. Unless its misfortunes can be charged with the crime of presenting to him the opportunity which he promptly seized the party must be held blameless. It was so thoroughly shattered by the Kearney explosion that there was scarcely a corporal's guard left to protect it from aggression. In 1882 there were so few avowed democrats in San Francisco that the trick of capturing the organization was an easy one. Buckley and Rainey saw their chance and seized it. They worked together for a while but in a comparatively brief period Rainey became, not an entirely negligible quantity, but only of secondary consequence, his value being determined by the number of men he could round up for the primaries or an elec- tion. He was no longer consulted by the railroad, which did all its business through the Blind Boss while he remained docile and Rainey, like the others mentioned, took their orders from him.
Shattered Fortunes of Democracy Repaired
Broderick and Buckley Compared
CHAPTER LIII
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE CITY
DEMAND FOR REFORM-COMMUNICATION OPENED WITH ALL PARTS OF THE STATE- STREETS AND SIDEWALKS IN BAD CONDITION-A GROWING SENTIMENT IN FAVOR OF GOOD PAVEMENTS-KEARNY STREET WIDENED-DUPONT STREET CHANGED TO GRANT AVENUE-OBJECTION TO EXTENDING FIRE LIMITS-SUTRO'S INVESTMENTS IN REAL ESTATE-JAMES LICK AND HIS BEQUESTS-CITY HALL CONSTRUCTED ON THE IN- STALLMENT PLAN-GETTING RID OF THE SAND DUNES-THE PALACE HOTEL OPENED -BALDWIN HOTEL-CONGESTION IN DOWN TOWN DISTRICTS-POPULATION SPREAD- ING WESTWARD-"SOUTH OF THE SLOT"-DRIFTING AWAY FROM THE MISSION DIS- TRICT-CHANGES EFFECTED BY IMPROVED TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES-INVENTION OF THE CABLE TRACTION SYSTEM-THE FIRST CABLE ROAD-COAXING INVESTORS TO BUILD STREET RAILWAYS-STREET CAR FARES REDUCED TO FIVE CENTS-GREAT DE- MAND FOR STREET CAR FRANCHISES-WHOLESALE GRANT OF FRANCHISES-NOB HILL MANSIONS-ACTIVITY OF REAL ESTATE DEALERS-RECLAMATION OF GOLDEN GATE PARK-MULTIPLICATION OF URBAN CONVENIENCES-FIRST ELECTRIC LIGHT-TELE- PHONE INTRODUCED-WATER SUPPLY-RAILWAY AND SEA TRANSPORTATION.
CIT
HEN things are running awry in England their publicists sometimes console themselves, and try to reassure the peo- W ple by saying that the country will muddle through some- how. The expression muddle conveys the impression that those who utter it are satisfied to see governmental and SEA C SAN FRE other affairs conducted in an unsystematic fashion, but there is no ground for any such assumption. It really amounts to a declaration of belief that no matter what contingencies may arise the English people will prove resourceful enough to cope with them successfully. It is not an admission of weakness, or incapacity, but a recognition of the fact that the prescience of man is not sufficiently developed to foresee all that may occur, or when he can foresee that circumstances will not always permit taking steps to avert the undesirable happening. In short "muddling" may be translated into a much pleasanter phrase, one which when applied to a man stamps him as one who can be depended upon to deal with an emergency, whether foreseen or unexpected, in a manner calculated to avert disaster, even if it does not convert the evil into a benefit.
William T. Coleman must have had some such thought as this in mind when he told Mr. Bryce that no matter what happened to Americans they could be depended upon in the final resort to preserve their institutions and respect property rights. When he spoke in 1881 he was in a position to review the happenings of the Seven-
Muddling Through
Looking Backward
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ties and was able to perceive that, despite the turmoil of the decade, the specula- tive mania, the financial shortcomings and the depression of business which resulted in much unemployment, and the industrial changes wrought by the completion of the transcontinental railroad, San Francisco continued to move forward, not always steadily, but sufficiently so to permit the impression to be gained when looking backward that there was no serious interruption to progress.
A Tame Demand for Reform
Indeed if the historian chose to cut out the political turmoil, and the other dis- quieting features of life in a growing city, and confined himself to a recital of the changes produced, and the advances made during the period between 1871 and 1883, he might, by merely telling the truths of accomplishment, make it appear that the twelve or thirteen years under review were prosperous and not altogether unhappy, even though they were marred by discontent and untoward political oc- currences. A hundred years hence in looking backward the sand lot episode will be lost sight of, and the only fact connected with it that will be recalled will be its apparent relation to the production of a state constitution, which was regarded by the world at the time of its adoption as an instrument full of menace to existing institutions, but which a few years afterward came to be regarded as but a tame expression of a desire for reforms which proved ineffective in many particulars because it failed to receive the moral support of the whole country.
A hundred years hence the historian will be more interested in noting that the apparently turbulent era was one in which attempts at civic improvement were made after a period of apathy and complete indifference that lasted over fourteen years, and during which the good citizen of San Francisco was chiefly concerned about keeping down the tax rate, and rarely gave a thought to the desirableness of making the City a pleasant place of abode. When he turns from the political field he will find plenty to note, for between 1871 and 1883 there were many sig- nificant developments, world wide in their character, in which San Francisco shared. Among these were the introduction of electricity as an illuminant, and of the tele- phone as a means of intercourse. The records show that the metropolis of the Pacific coast was prompt to avail itself of the benefits which these great inventions conferred. They also make clear that San Francisco was foremost in the movement to extend urban transportation facilities, and that long before 1883 it was on the high road that led to the reversal of the pent up policy of the Consolidation Act which, although it could politically circumscribe the area of the City, could not prevent its overflowing and creating a great urban community, the interests of whose citi- zens are so interlocked that names affect them but slightly.
During this period it may be said that communication was effectually estab- lished between San Francisco and all parts of the state, making regions that were formerly remote easily accessible, and putting all parts of California in touch with each other. There were also improvements of equal importance in sea transporta- tion, which tended to enhance the value of the port as a distributor of domestic and foreign products. It was during the Seventies also that San Francisco thought concentrated itself on the project of joining the two great oceans by a canal, turn- ing aside from its little concerns to contemplate the broader possibilities affecting its future. And if the historian is very inquisitive he will discover that the seventy decade in San Francisco ushered in a taste for more luxurious living that displayed itself in the erection of private residences which advertised the affluence of their owners if they did not invariably confer distinction upon the architects who de-
Communica- tion with All Parts of the State
A Hundred Years Hence
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signed them. And synchronizing with this architectural manifestation he will note an increased pretentiousness in the hotels and business structures which indicated confidence in the final outcome, no matter what the builders may have thought while under the domination of the fear that capital would desert the City.
It is related that in 1849 Montgomery street between Clay and Jackson was made passable by constructing a sidewalk some seventy-five yards in length by using in part bags of Chilean flour, which were pressed down nearly out of sight in the soft mud, a long row of cooking stoves and a double row of boxes filled with plug tobacco, all of which were cheaper, because a drug in the market, than lumber at $500 or $600 a thousand feet. Barrels of provisions and useless gold washing machines served for crossings instead of stepping stones. It was not long before material less costly, and better adapted for street paving and sidewalk purposes offered itself, but the evidence we have indicates that they were not eagerly availed of by the busy citizens of the new town, who for quite a period were more intent on making money for themselves than upon the improvement of the City. Finally with the cheapening of lumber a semblance of streets was created. Plank roads and plank sidewalks were laid in all those parts of the growing town frequented by the people, and the satisfaction with which their introduction and use is com- mented upon by the writer of the "Annals of San Francisco" indicates that they were regarded as giving the City a decidedly up to date appearance, which they may indeed have done, for those were the days when the exploits of the fast trotting horse were celebrated by telling what he could do on such a roadway. "Two forty on the planked road" was as much used a bit of slang on the Atlantic seaboard in the Fifties and Sixties as on the Pacific coast.
The cheapening of lumber, however, had its drawbacks as well as its advantages. It caused the people of San Francisco to adhere to its use for street and sidewalk purposes long after it should have been abandoned for more sightly, sanitary and durable material. In a report made by the superintendent of streets in 1876 he stated that grading, macadamizing, paving, planking, sidewalks, etc., represented an expenditure of $1,087,026 during the preceding fiscal year, but no stranger viewing the dilapidated wooden sidewalks, which were still doing duty in what was even at that time the "down town" district would have supposed that much money had been spent on San Francisco thoroughfares, and he certainly would not have agreed that those which were passable were cared for by the City. It was, how- ever, beginning to dawn on some of the citizens, who were not too greatly enamored of low taxes, that cobble stones were unsightly, and that streets laid with them could not be kept clean, but when they were abandoned finally it was not for such reasons, but because "the cobble stone paving, owing to the instability of the founda- tion . . is rendered costly in consequence of frequent repairs." It was there- fore deemed advisable to use the granite block because it was more durable. "It has proved," said the street superintendent, "the best pavement yet laid in the City for heavy travel, and while the expense of laying is slightly in excess of cobble, it is beyond a doubt the best and most satisfactory material that has as yet been adopted."
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