Creator
John Muir et al.
Recipient
The Voters of San Francisco
Preview
Transcription
Keep this secret till tuedsday
[illegible]
This is issued by citizens who are interested solely in the welfare of San Francisco and who have no interest whatever in any water supply available for San Francisco.
TO THE VOTERS OF SAN FRANCISCO:
Almost all of our citizens favor a municipal water supply. We want the best there is---acquired on the best terms possible and for the least cost.
The IMMEDIATE QUESTION before the people is the HETCH-HETCHY SUPPLY. The following are SOME OF THE REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD NOT VOTE BONDS FOR OR FAVOR THIS PROPOSITION :
FINANCIAL REASONS AGAINST THE PROJECT.
ARE YOU WILLING TO BOND THIS CITY FOR MORE THAN SEVENTY-FIVE MILLION ($75,000,000.00) DOLLARS AND INCREASE THE TAX RATE 75 TO 100 CENTS ON EVERY HUNDRED DOLLARS?
DO YOU WANT TO RAISE TAXATION BEYOND ENDURANCE? --- CHECK ENTERPRISE? - PARALYZE INDUSTRIES? - REPEL INVESTORS FROM YOUR DOORS? - BUILD UP A WALL THAT WILL KEEP OUT MONEY AND PREVENT THE EMPLOYMENT OF LABOR?
DO YOU WANT THE CITY TO SPEND MILLIONS ON A ONE-SIDED AND GROSSLY UNFAIR PARTNERSHIP WHEREBY IRRIGATION DISTRICTS ARE GUARANTEED MORE THAN ONE BILLION FIVE HUNDRED MILLION GALLONS OF WATER PER DAY AND SAN FRANCISCO IS ALLOWED ONLY WHAT IS LEFT?
If you do not want all these evils and worse to befall this city, pause a moment to read what follows:
BONDS of San Francisco ALREADY AUTHORIZED-
*1904 Bonds sold and outstanding ......... $ 3,436,000.00
1908 Bonds authorized and partly sold ......... 18,200,000.00
ADDITIONAL BONDS REQUIRED in the near future for new City Hall,additional sewers, streets, parks and playgrounds, etc., total atleast ........... 10,000,000.00
CITY ENGINEER'S ESTIMATE OF COST OF HETCH-HETCHY SYSTEM..... 43,774,150.00
Grand Total . . . . . $75,410,150.00
OR City Engineer's estimate of cost of Spring Valley plant and Hetch-Hetchy as auxiliary system ......... $51,186,660.00
This would make a Grand Total of ...... $82,822,660.00
Remember that under the Charter THE CITY CAN NOT AT PRESENT BOND ITSELF FOR MORE THAN $68,206,249.65. DOES NOT THIS TREMENDOUSLY EXPENSIVE SCHEME SPELL BANKRUPTCY AND RUIN?
But the real situation is even worse. DID YOU EVER KNOW OF A MUNICIPAL OR GOVERNMENT PROJECT WHERE THE ACTUAL COST WAS AS LOW AS THE ESTIMATE? Our City Hall cost $13,000,000.00, or more than four times the original estimated cost!
The Panama Canal is going to cost over a hundred millions more than, and about double the estimated cost! EVERY MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM YOU EVER HEARD OF COST FROM A THIRD TO A HALF MORE THAN THE ESTIMATED COST! The new Los Angeles water and irrigation system was estimated to cost $23,000,000.00, and the actual cost will be nearer $50,000,000.00.
ARE WE ANY WISER HERE IN SAN FRANCISCO?
The City Engineer is anxious to keep his estimates as low as possible: He says the Hetch-Hetchy project will cost $43,774,150.00 or $51,186,660.00. Do you for one moment imagine that we can keep down the cost to anything like that amount? JUDGING FROM THE EXAMPLES THAT HISTORY GIVES US, IT WILL COST MORE NEARLY $75,000,000.00!
* It must also be kept in mind that there are about $14,000,000.00 more of the 1904 bonds authorized and uncancelled that may still be sold, which would make the grand total $90,000,000.00.
Location
[San Francisco ?]
Date Original
[ca.1908 Oct]
Source
Original letter dimensions: 28 x 43 cm.
Resource Identifier
muir17_0967-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 17, Image 0967
Copyright Status
Copyrighted
Copyright Statement
The unpublished works of John Muir are copyrighted by the Muir-Hanna Trust. To purchase copies of images and/or obtain permission to publish or exhibit them, see http://www.pacific.edu/Library/Find/Holt-Atherton-Special-Collections/Fees-and-Forms-.html
Owning Institution
University of the Pacific Library Holt-Atherton Special Collections. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.
Copyright Holder
Muir-Hanna Trust
Copyright Date
1984
Page Number
Page 1
Keywords
John Muir, correspondence, letters, author, writing, naturalist, California, correspondent, mail, message, post, exchange of letters, missive, notes, epistle
