USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > San Francisco, a history of the Pacific coast metropolis, Volume II > Part 39
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Citizens' Committee Plan Water Front Im- provements
Corrupt and Wasteful Manage- ment
SAMFRIEDMAN &C.
FURNITURE & CARPE
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VIEW EAST FROM ST. FRANCIS HOTEL BEFORE THE FIRE
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calamity of the 18th of April, 1906, interrupted their work, which, however, was resumed as soon as the people of the City had time to devote themselves to other objects than providing for the immediate present.
In marked contrast to the unprogressiveness of the Harbor Commission which, as the foregoing recital shows, had to be prodded and never made a move without the exertion of pressure, was the enterprise displayed by the shipping industry. Its activities prior to the Eighties have been described, and the expansion of the tonnage of the port after that date has been dwelt upon, but even more noteworthy than the latter was the considerable improvement in the effectiveness of tonnage as compared with that of earlier date. In 1883 the Oregon Railway and Naviga- tion Company began to provide a much better class of steamers. The old wooden side wheel vessels were displaced by iron hulls and before the close of 1887 the fleet of this line numbered eighteen, all classed as propellers, and five of them were advertised as possessing superior accommodations for passengers. This company was in 1904 taken over by the San Francisco and Portland S. S. Co. In 1887 there were 54 steamers registered in the Pacific coast service, with an aggregate tonnage of 32,400. In August of that year of the 295 arrivals in the coastwise trade 132 were steamships. It is recorded that in 1900 the last of the regular line of sailing vessels between New York and San Francisco entered the harbor. At the time it was thought that it marked the abandonment of the sailing ship for these long voyages; but later they were again resorted to, but only temporarily, for the purpose of combatting the Southern Pacific's efforts to throttle ocean com- petition.
An event of importance in shipping circles occurred in 1899, when the Kosmos line, formed in Hamburg, started a monthly service between that port and San Francisco, via sundry European ports and the Straits of Magellan. The first steamer of this new line, the "Tanis," arrived in San Francisco December 4, 1899, making the voyage from Germany in 89 days. During the first fifteen months of its operations there were 14 arrivals of Kosmos steamers, but its business after that period improved to such an extent that the arrivals averaged a little better than one every twenty days. In 1901 a new line, named after its enterprising originator, Robert Dollar, commenced operations. The first steamer of this com- pany was the "Simon J. Murphy," the name of which was changed to the "Mel- ville S. Dollar." It was purchased in Baltimore, and was 921 tons register. The Dollar line grew rapidly, and there were added to the fleet the "Bessie Dollar," 3,679 tons, the "Grace Dollar," 289 tons, the "Harold Dollar," 607 tons, the "M. S. Dollar," 2,713, the "Hazel Dollar," 3,150, the "Robert Dollar," 3,400, and the "Stanley Dollar," 983 tons. The operations of the Dollar line were not confined to any particular trade, either domestic or foreign, but the vessels of the company have been actively employed ever since the inception of the enterprise. The Amer- ican-Hawaiian line commenced operations in the same year. Its steamers made the long run between San Francisco and New York via the Straits of Magellan, but later an arrangement was made by which freight taken on this side was trans- ferred by rail across Mexico, where it was transhipped. This change, however, did not occur until May, 1908.
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company continued to do business during the period under review, but its trade via the isthmus was deliberately neglected. The line was controlled by the Southern Pacific interest, and, as related in the account
More and Better Steamships
New Steam- ship Lines Started
Operations of Pacific Mail S. S. Co.
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of the brief uprising which resulted in the starting of the Valley road, was regarded by the merchants of San Francisco as a hindrance rather than a benefit. Its op- erations on the coast south of San Francisco were confined to serving the Mexican and Central American states' ports, and it had a practical monopoly of the impor- tant coffee trade until the advent of the Kosmos line. The Oriental branch of the company was conducted on a different footing, and maintained the prestige estab- lished in early days when it was the pioneer in the over-sea Pacific trade. Its fleet of steamers received additions when needed, and while in some particulars they did not compare with the best of the Atlantic liners they were swift and com- . modious and several were of large tonnage.
Commer- cialism With Hawaii
The constantly increasing trade with the Hawaiian islands made regular and quick communication with them an important matter. For many years the traffic was mainly by sail, but this method of transportation gave way to steam during the period and made openings for several navigation companies. Among these was the Matson Navigation Company, which has maintained several large ships. The Matson line, while not making a specialty of passenger business, provides accommodations. Prior to 1895 all the sugar grown on the islands was sent to San Francisco for refinement or distribution, In that year direct shipments from Honolulu to the East were inaugurated, that step being induced by the failure of the planters to secure a continuance of the exceptionally low rates which the rail- road had granted for many years. Although the business of directly shipping to the East was not begun until several years after the identification of Claus Spreck- els with the San Joaquin valley railroad enterprise, his activity in the promotion of that project has by some been attributed to the refusal of the Southern Pacific to continue the favorable freight arrangements he had for a long time enjoyed.
The diversion effected by this direct trade was more than offset by increased activity in other directions. The Oceanic Steamship Company, which came into existence in 1885, operated its steamers between Australian ports and San Fran- cisco, touching at Honolulu, and the ships of the Pacific Mail also made stops at that port, giving the Hawaiians frequent and regular service which tended to strengthen the connection between the islands and the mainland, and to greatly extend the trade of San Francisco. The Oceanic Steamship Company did not always have plain financial sailing, and there was considerable trouble with its stock at times, due to alleged mismanagement and manipulation. In 1902 the gross earnings of the company were reported at $2,002,219 and the operating ex- penses at $1,908,036, and the net loss for the year $212,726. In 1902 there was a deficit of $349,304 and at the end of the ensuing year a further loss of $234,672 was reported. At the close of the year 1903 the fleet of steamers belonging to the company was valued at $4,363,356. The facilities afforded by the company un- doubtedly tended to stimulate trade between Australia and the United States, and that fact was recognized by the Colonials, who extended a subsidy, but the United States refused to make a similar provision. Considerable difference of opinion existed respecting the possibility of profitably operating a line between Australia and San Francisco without government aid, but repeated experiences seemed to demonstrate that its extension is necessary and desirable, and that a large trade could be built up by steadily continuing the direct intercourse with the new and growing commonwealth.
Trade With Hawaii and Australia
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FISHERMEN'S COVE, SAN FRANCISCO BAY
MENDING THE NETS One of the picturesque scenes on Fishermen's Wharf
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During the period under review the once important grain trade of the port of San Francisco dwindled to such proportions that it ceased to be a considerable factor in the business of the city. The expansion and decline of this trade was so obscured by growth in other directions that it scarcely attracted more than passing attention. Publicists in discussing the changes in the development of the resources of the state were called upon to note the tremendous shrinkage of the output of the cereal, and occasionally the reminiscent writer would comment on the disappearance of the large fleets of sailing vessels which at recurring intervals made their appearance in the bay. There were some who lamented the absence of the "wind jammers" which had formerly entered the port in quest of cargoes and shook their heads in deprecation of the change. But they were quarreling with the inevitable. The production of wheat in California declined because it was found more profitable to raise other crops. The sailing vessel had begun to be less used for wheat shipments long before California's wheat product was reduced to proportions scarcely adequate to meet the demands of its growing population. As early as 1881 the shipment of wheat and flour by steam vessels was begun. The big crop of 1880 made it expedient to employ the more rapid mode of transit, and the practice extended not rapidly but perceptibly. In 1896 twenty-five steamers cleared, taking 1,294,398 centals of wheat and 1,090,789 centals of barley, which was beginning to take precedence in the crop reports. In 1900 seven steamers were dispatched with 770,668 centals of wheat, but the shrinking receipts of wheat and flour which had fallen from a maximum of 23,316,320 centals (flour and wheat brought to terms of centals), in 1893 only aggregated 13,989,781 centals and dur- ing the year preceding the fire they had fallen to 6,150,173 centals.
Before this great trade had shrunk to these proportions the men once promi- nent in mining operations in California, and who had made immense sums of money in manipulating the mining stock market of San Francisco tried their hand at a game far more risky than that they had formerly engaged in and attempted to create a corner in wheat. This speculation, which culminated in disaster in 1895, was generally supposed to have been suggested by an employe of the Nevada bank, but the details were never made public, nor were the losses known, although they were supposed to have amounted to many millions. The fact was ascertained, however, that the men engaged in the deal were compelled to carry over in May, 1895, a stock of 175,000 tons of wheat, which was rapidly unloaded after that date, accounting for a large number of steamer shipments, suggested by the neces- sity of promptly marketing and realizing on the accumulated grain. Many stories were current concerning this speculation. One of them was to the effect that Flood and Mackey were so seriously embarrassed that they found it necessary to apply for relief to their former partner, James G. Fair, with whom they had a disagreement which resulted in their separation. It was believed at the time that Fair's assistance saved his former associates, and that he derived a cynical pleasure from being called upon to help them out of their financial difficulties.
The cessation of the grain trade was more than compensated for by the growth of a considerable coastwise intercourse. The development of the Pacific coast region was followed by the creation of new and the enlargement of transportation facilities established at an earlier date. The fuel problem of the City and the interior towns was largely met by the operation of steam colliers plying between British Columbia and Australia, vessels of considerable size being employed in
Carriers in the Wheat Export Trade
Failure of a Big Wheat Speculation
Lumber and Coal Trade
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the trade. A large fleet of steam schooners also brought supplies of lumber to the City. In 1887 there were twenty or more of this class of vessels whose tonnage ranged from 100 to 200 tons. In 1911 there were over 160 steamers engaged in lumbering with a varying carrying capacity of from 100,000 to nearly 4,000,000 feet. The ownership of these vessels was on this coast, and in addition there were numerous tramp steamers which found lumber freights profitable.
One of the most important innovations in the shipping industry about this time was made in the carriage of oil. At one period in the history of the harbor, what now seems an extraordinary amount of attention was paid to the matter of making San Francisco an inviting port of call for vessels engaged in the whaling industry. The possibilities of whaling appealed so strongly to the imagination of statesmen that the subject was dilated upon in state papers. Queerly enough an industry of a cognate character, but immeasurably rivaling that of the taking of whales, sprang up in California without exciting much comment until its proportions became so great as to excite national attention. The production of petroleum and its ex- portation to foreign countries began to engage the attention of the shipping men early in the Nineties, and also called into existence new transportation lines wholly devoted to the carriage of oil. The largest companies operating in the California fields in addition to extracting the oil began to maintain fleets in which to export the products of their wells. Shipments of oil were first made by sail, but in 1894 a steamer was dispatched to China and since that date there has been a steady development of the trade which extends to Central American ports on the south and Alaskan ports on the north. The oil is conducted from the distant wells by pipe lines to convenient shipping points on the bay, in the vicinity of which important refining operations are carried on, and many by-products are manufac- tured or utilized. Perhaps more important than the part played in increasing the exports is the change effected in sea transportation by the use of oil as fuel. Many coal-burning steamships have been converted into fuel oil consumers and there is a reasonable prospect that in the near future the majority of vessels clearing from San Francisco will be oil burners.
The plaint which finds frequent expression in the Atlantic states, that the foreigner is driving domestic shipowners out of business, is considerably modified by the statistics of Pacific coast shipping. The increased tonnage of the port of San Francisco between 1883 and 1905 shows a lively appreciation of the value of the sea as a medium of communication. In 1883 the arrivals from foreign ports aggregated 835,600 tons, of which 306,300 was steam; in 1905 the foreign ar- rivals totalled 1,329,700 tons, 960,000 being steam. Between the same years the domestic tonnage increased from 1,191,400 tons, 436,800 of which was steam, to 2,250,200 tons, 1,563,500 of the latter being steam. In 1905 the aggregate ton- nage of all arrivals was 3,579,900 of which 2,523,000 was steam. This growth was by no means continuous during the period. There was a falling off between 1883 and 1887 and a slight revival after the latter year until 1891. Between 1891 and 1896 shipping conditions as represented by tonnage remained almost stationary, but there was a notable increase between 1896 and 1905, the total tonnage rising from 2,501,200 in the former to 3,579,900 tons in the latter year. The gain in the first thirteen years of the period was only 474,000 tons as against 1,078,000 tons in the nine years ending 1905. These figures in a measure reflect the vicissi- tudes of trade, but their variations by no means synchronize exactly with the years
Domestic Shipping on the Pacific
Remarkable Development of Oil Trade
to TE. 50
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The Wine Press
The Base Ball Player Grant Monument
Garfield Monument Sir Francis Drake Cross
MONUMENTS AND STATUARY IN GOLDEN GATE PARK
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of depression and revival. Taken in conjunction with the clearings of the banks, and the statistics of exports and imports, however, they convey as accurate an idea of business conditions and fluctuations as it would be possible to present.
It has already been shown that the exports from San Francisco by sea which were as high as $53,664,352 in 1881, had after that year declined until they fell as low as $26,410,672 in 1894. After that date they began to increase in volume, but slowly until 1899 when they received an impetus rising to $41,419,679 in 1900 and reaching $64,918,505 in 1905. The imports which amounted to $37,- 729,402 in 1884 reached $53,325,982 in 1891, dropped to $36,414,862 in 1896, were $45,677,924 in 1899 and in 1905 they totalled $44,249,211. A surprising feature of the table of imports is its disclosure of the fact that their volume was not greatly enlarged after 1882 when they were given at $44,348,545. There were years, for instance, between 1888 and 1891 when they exceeded that amount as in 1891 when they rose to $53,325,982, but after that date they dropped off only rising to $45,000,000 in 1899 when they again showed signs of a decline and no tendency to increase until after 1905. There is one other index of the state of trade worth quoting, that furnished by the Internal Revenue Department. The collections of the San Francisco district aggregated $1,858,852 in 1890; $2,067,946 in 1895; $4,019,086 in 1900 and in 1906 they were $4,542,255.
The reference in a preceding paragraph to the use made of ocean facilities for carriage would not be illuminating without calling attention to the shipbuilding industry of San Francisco which at one time appeared to be in a promising con- dition, but owing to labor conditions has suffered a decline since 1905. In 1887 there were 23 steam and 31 sailing craft with a total tonnage of 17,629 docu- mented at San Francisco. In 1890 there was an addition of 12,063 tons; in 1900 the record showed 33 steam and 18 sailing craft constructed aggregating 29,221 tons and in 1905 there were 9,030 tons turned out of the shipyards of San Fran- cisco. During this period commencing with July, 1888, the following war vessels were built at the Union Iron Works: Protected cruiser "Charleston" in 1888, 4,040 tons; the "San Francisco" in 1889, 4,080 tons; the armored monitor "Mon- terey" in 1891; the "Olympia," 5,870 tons in 1892; the battleship "Oregon," 10,- 500 tons in 1893; the battleships "Wisconsin" and "Ohio" in 1898 and 1901; the armored cruiser "California," 13,800 tons in 1904, and the "South Dakota," 13,- 400 tons in the same year. The "Milwaukee," a protected cruiser of 9,700 tons, built in 1904, was the last warship constructed in the port. After that date, even with the differential allowed by the government in favor of a Pacific coast yard it was found impossible to compete with the Eastern shipbuilders where the labor conditions were more favorable.
All these war vessels were constructed at the Union Iron Works which began operations in the City in 1884. The plant was one of exceptional excellence, and won for itself a universal reputation. The remarkable performance of the "Oregon" reflected great credit on the builders, and was a subject of widespread comment. It probably did more to emphasize the desirability of creating a waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific than all the arguments urged in favor of the construction of a canal since the time of Philip II. From the day that the "Oregon" started from this City on her memorable voyage of thousands of miles, to join the fleet operating on the coast of Cuba against the Spanish until the hour of her tri- umphant arrival in perfect trim, and ready for action, her course was noted with Vol. n-18
Statistics of Trade Fluctu- ations
Labor and Shipbuilding Industry
Commercial and War Vessels Con- structed
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eager anxiety, and over and over the necessity of accomplishing so long a journey was dilated upon as an object lesson which emphasized the value of a short cut which would readily permit the union of the Atlantic and Pacific fleets of the United States. In addition to the construction of the warships which represented a displacement of 103,000 tons and 200,000 horsepower, and whose cost exclusive of armor was $32,000,000, the Union Iron Works, up to the time of its sale by the Scotts, Irving M. and W. T., and those connected with them in the enterprise, constructed about 70 merchant vessels, notable among which were the six large freight steamers of the American Hawaiian Company. In addition to this im- portant concern there were also operated in the port the Fulton Iron Works, the United Engineering Company, the Main Street Iron Works, and other smaller establishments, while John W. Dickie and Son, Boole & Co., and other companies were building hulls in San Francisco bay. The great strike of the iron workers which lasted from May, 1901, to March, 1902, was the prelude to the troubles which later beset the metal trades of the City, and caused the serious decline in their importance which the census of 1910 disclosed, but which was understood and felt before the bureau made its publication.
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CHAPTER LXI
PEOPLE RISE SUPERIOR TO POLITICAL AND OTHER TROUBLES
INDIVIDUAL EFFORT SCORES A TRIUMPH-UNBUSINESSLIKE METHODS IN CONDUCT OF MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS-LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN PUBLIC OFFICIALS-STREET IM- PROVEMENT DUE TO INDIVIDUAL EFFORT-LACK OF IMAGINATION-SAN FRANCISCO'S FIRST STEEL FRAME STRUCTURE-IMPROVEMENT IN BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE -FIREPROOF STRUCTURES BEFORE 1906-RESIDENCE ARCHITECTURE-SITES THAT AFFORD MARINE VIEWS GROW IN FAVOR-APPRECIATIVE CRITICISM BY STRANGERS -SAN FRANCISCO'S PICTURESQUE APPEARANCE-GROWTH OF THE HOME INSTINCT -REAL ESTATE AND REAL ESTATE DEALERS-OPENING OF NEW DISTRICTS- "GRAFT" AND THE TIPPING HABIT-FRANCHISES NOT REGARDED AS VALUABLE- THE DOOR LOCKED AFTER THE STEED WAS STOLEN-SCHEMES TO SHUT OUT COM- PETITION-CABLE SYSTEM ADOPTED ON MARKET STREET LINES-AGITATION AGAINST OVERHEAD TROLLEY-UNITED RAILROADS TAKE OVER CHIEF CITY STREET CAR LINES-CONTROL EASILY SURRENDERED BY LOCAL CAPITALISTS-MUNICIPAL EF- FORTS AT BUILDING A STREET RAILWAY-NO REAL OBSTACLE TO CREATION OF A RIVAL STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM-BURNHAM PLANS FOR A CITY BEAUTIFUL-THE PARKS-WATER SUPPLY-TELEGRAPHIC EXTENSION-CABLE TO THE PHILIPPINES FROM SAN FRANCISCO.
N THE preceding chapter it was shown that the develop- ment of San Francisco along industrial lines between 1883 and 1906 did not proceed with that regularity which a sur- vey of the statistics of the beginning and end of the period might suggest. A historian writing two or three hundred SE OF SAN FRAN US years hence may summarily dispose of the subject by as- suming that there was continuous advancement, and that indeed is the method usually adopted when the details are not available for close analysis. Even the hypercritical German writers, unless treating a particular period, are addicted to the habit of assuming that the salient events, concerning which they have abundant information, describe its characteristics, and no assump- tion is more common than that a century or two or three centuries were marked by peace and prosperity, or that they were troubled throughout with wars and adver- sity. It is not probable that this was ever the case even in vegetating communities, and it certainly could not have been true of active minded and energetic peoples in any country on the globe; and if the chapter preceding this, and which dealt pro- saically with figures indicating alternations of good and bad times has no other valne than to emphasize the fact that there are ups and downs in the growth of a
The Ups and Downs of a City
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city it will have served its purpose. It may assist in clearing away a delusion which may have, or it might as well be said, has had pernicious effects, because it leads to confounding the material and the spiritual. It has recently been asserted that the looseness of administration of the city government of San Francisco at various times has caused it to be discredited and shunned by good people who would otherwise have made it their home, and on the other hand it has been claimed that the practices condemned in some quarters have been the magnets to attract population and promote commercial growth. Both sides err in their attempt to put a commercial valuation upon morality. The honesty which is engendered by the thought that it is politic to be honest is not the kind that should command admiration. If the moral standard of the people is to be raised it must be by some other method than by holding out commercial rewards. Commercial men may have their code and enforce it with good practical effects. They can do so because their relations with each other permit the punishment of violaters; but the attempt to apply it to an entire community, a large proportion of which is only indirectly affected, and cannot be made to see the possibility of direct injury is as vain as it would be to seek to terrify a propertyless man by threatening to sue him for damages.
Unbusiness- Like Munici- pal Methods
In any event the alternations described demonstrate that the municipal troubles of San Francisco have been powerless to arrest its growth. During periods of so called good government the City has vegetated, and it has advanced by leaps and bounds at other times when corrupt men were in control of the offices. This indis- putable fact should suggest that the causes of prosperity or depression are economic. If production is encouraged and wealth is created times are sure to be what we call "good;" if the reverse is the case, if the productivity of a people is interrupted and the ability to consume is impaired either by lack of confidence, or decrease of energy they will be bad. If this idea once permeates the minds of those who are constantly seeking a panacea for physical ills in the shape of changed forms of gov- ernment, they will adopt a different attitude, or insist on applying the same methods to the management of a municipal corporation as those pursned in the conduct of the affairs of a business managed for profit. They will cease to demand the impos- sible, and will abandon the effort to secure the operation of public utilities in a businesslike manner while defying the cardinal maxim of successful business men that all cannot be bosses. Our systems of municipal government make the tens of thou- sands who have the votes the bosses, and efficiency can never be procured by such a method. It can only be secured by employing experienced men and by investing them with authority and demanding results.
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