The San Francisco call. [volume], October 06, 1907, Page 2, Image 2

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
THE WOMAN WHO PAINTS SIGNS ON TALL WALLS FOR $50 A DAY
F yoa were a woman would you for
I $50 a. day let yourself be hoisted to
the top of a seven story buildlnc
end ply your p&int brush, on the
outside wall while balancing on a
plank swung like Mahomet's coQn be
tween heaven and hell, the latter lo
cality being represented by the com
ments of the crowd below? Could you,
styi 6waying in that perilous position,
take the pins out of your collar and
use them to repair a torn flounce In
your dress as nonchalantly as if you
were in the/sr»sslnc mom "ot a^ thea
t*rT "Wouli you at '\u25a0«*>" j/tt*i'^|«tko
Br irtgittg Bael l^owirt^Mr^ Pinees That Shift eel
(Continued from Preceding Page.)
ords. In those days men picking
around for "locations" did not look
very different froVn looters, and not
even the faithful men of the engineer's
office were willing to meet the fate of
calamity thieves. To cope with the
situation Engineer Woodward had
band? made for his men to wear on
their* hats. The printing on them was
as large as the band would admit of,
so that It might be distinctive and seen
at a .distance. Authority to wear this
designation was ehown by the signa
ture of Thomas P. Woodward. Tho
further detail of getting the Indorse
ment of the military authorities in;
charge ot the city was attended to and
the surveying was carried on with all
possible expedition. Occasionally a new
or overeolicitous soldier had to . have
epecia.l explanations about these privi
leged workers, but for the most part
the resurveylns vras carried on without
interruption.
The Old Block Book .
When the reconstruction was weeks
under way Mr. Holcomb discovered that
an original block book had be4n saved
from the destruction that overtook the
Hall of Records. When the few things
that were found unburned in this
building were taken to the California
street synagogue, Mr. Holcomb went
to see If there was anything in the
collection that would further the great
work of restoration. He could hardly
believe his eyes when he saw the block
book that w&s made In 1566, 1567 and
1868 by the city board of engineers, a
special commission selected for this
fundamental work. Iv point of fact, it
seems that few people wera aware of
its existence. The records that had
been developed from this original re
port were the ones in constant use.
Once found, that book was not out of
Hi. Holcomb's jurisdiction until the
vaults of the reconstructed Hall of Rec
ords were ready to receive it. Although
It was more than one man's load. Mr.'
Holcomb took it home every night and
placed it where, in caso of fire, he could
s;et It In on instant. Since that time
ttro - ofScl&l copies have been made of
this valuable record and now tho orlg-
Jntl Is £.s carefully looked after as tho
declaration of independence.
Before this survey in the sixties men
seemed to Lstc beca too busy with
yourself a target for vulgar Jests froth
a street full of people, in which the
women are calling you an "unsexea
creature"\and the men arc wondering
"what In h— 11" you are doing It for
anyway? %
Miss L. C. Cecil, late of Chicago, now
touring the Pacific coast,' does and
bears all these things, and her pretty
cars do not even burn. When the com
ments grow loud enough to reach her
she simply thrown a large sized wink
over her shoulder ' 4 from a twinkling
blue eye and. makes a faco such* as a
scalawag boy might roako when 'tthe
teacher was not looking. Tho \llCer
pioneering and Its business of digging,
for gold to concern themselves Iwlth
making city maps. There was a~geh
. cral direction for all streets, but" no one
worried if a thoroughfare were a few
feet wider In one block t than another.
Another /greatly .-appreciated •; help
came to Mr. Holcomb In his struggle
for accuracy. Sanborn \u25a0 and '« Corensen,"
who had come into possession of air the
field diagrams made by the. ,I*l6,
William Humphreys, for, a long time:
city engineer, were fortunate in having"
saved every record. They offered them
to the city for a conjiiderable sum,* but'
Mr. Holcomb reported against the pur
chase. He .knew that In -time every
survey In the city would have to be
mado over, for the earthquake's antics
would have to bo \u25a0 corrected or- recon
ciled. With this outlook theso records
could not have been made official. They i
were useful, however. In many in
stances, and Sanborn and Corenseh, ';,
recognizing good faith on , Mr/ llolv
comb's part, even though his decision :
was not a profitable one for them, al
lowed him the use; of the field, surveys
whenever be wanted -them. In this
way f these men * did their : part toward
the restoration of "the . city engineer's
. records. From these documents some ;
very Important main lines were run.
Tremendous Difficulties v
Mr. Holcomb's_ path has \u25a0 not 'been ;
without obstacles.; It is-a fact that
since the calamity there has been prac-'i
tically no elldwance for any thing "i but \
the salaries^of . .the .; employes , of . the
board of public works, of .which the",
city engineer's; office Is a depaftmentl
Further than that, for a long time^
there was but scant realization of the
, tremendous , ; Importance of saving]
monument locations in l^San Francisco.,
Sheer flghtlngVf or? what- Mr. Holcombj
knew to b a right 'carried the "work over \u25a0
the emergency' days". ; Ctty engineers
'•neVls'tnatkhV dett It In full tAgbt ol
her monitors.: ; . J, /--C .::'
HlsV Cecil has grasped , th» prlßCfrla
under tying all advertising that the on*
Important ; thin* ; !• : to * inak« j your • VlOK;
tima' atop. Xt matttranot whether _,th«y :
curse or bless; whether they admire
or censure. ;' ; In • fact, }, th i c more; \ they;
crltlclse{the. better, since people,"- a«; a |
rule, remember the things that put- "
rage their sense 'of -Troprlety,v when!
. those that merely.^ win their approval ;.
are forgotten. The man jwho, has spent,
*a!f «n hour lamenting;' the (decay; of ;
womanliness, -with a. 'younff . " woman^
sign painter as an object lesson before
him. is apt to remember; the , name of
the hatter' whose advertisement he has
seen growing under her 'daft' fingers,
and [when > next tie needs a hftt his 'f eetl
carry him "automatJcallr , r to ith'at : man's '
• shop. The.womari.whohurrles by jWith ,
averted face turns«at the corner to see
what the hutsy is , doing, ; anyway, and
as she turns she reads the advertise
ment' of a : new breakfast food./ She:
remembers the t:am«, because it Is
surrounded by a certain glamor of 'dis-'.
approval, and the vender, of the break
fast food ; Is richer by'one more cus-.
tomtr. When she serves /the new' food
at the. family 1 breakfast .table she prob«
Ably, recalls . the girl who painted the
sign, and, perhaps, she "delivers a little
homily. ; '! If the girl could hear It "she '\u25a0
would laugh^ merrily, at the success of
her scheme to attract /attention^ »|5
I met Miss Cecil; when sho, was. get*^
dng ready "to ', begin .work'; on a ,'build-
Inz at Market street and Golden Gate
avenue. 'She wore k white duck hat
and a white canvas, coat that; covered 1
' her ; from head • to., foot." • She 'carried
; herself \u25a0 , jauntily and. her large bluo
eyes looked out Into the world' fear-.
lessly. Her faco was rosy, with much
outdoor work. \u25a0 . .
VI am ', doing it to earn ; money,", she \u25a0:
said In answer to "questions.* ;:. "I have';
been et.lt /or tliree ' years.- I began in
Chicago and I : havo worked : In a "num
ber of cities. I never stay long In one
place. . I camo from Portland now, and -
I expect to go from here to -the cHics;
in the south." •' -:-....\u25a0'" . •_: . \u25a0-"
"Do youbelonff to'the union?" ..
."No, they, wont *; let me In. ' • At^least
they would "not Int Chicago;; I suppose
It Is because I am: a woman. : They
were < thinking of, taklhg^me in Port
land, but ; then I left.,.- I : . really "don't :
stay long enough in one place."
She called for her gloves, gently but
in the tone of one whols used to hav
ing things dono for her. She saw to
her ; paint brushes and . buckets,' then
; stepped lightly out on the swaying '\u25a0
. stage : and , lent a hand in pulling the
iropesthat hoisted It to tho top^bf the
building! \ When it had reached the
,* proper./ elevation she reached for her
" brush ; : and began ; ti paint. \u0084It wai no '
have " come and gone and 'they have j
been keenly alive to 'the interests of
tho"offlce,but always Mr.; Holcomb -has.;
baen responsible for; the big 1 detail of
the office. .He was About while the ftrei
was burning beginning the ; gigantic .\u25a0w
ork he has been engaged In' and which/
will be many, a year underfway/^lt Was
his spirltTthat took the crews -of men
into tho burned district^ "Every mo- >
men^was a golden, one- ln' ; those first
'restoration; days ; and h« gave /an ac- •
count of the ultimate hour. These'crewV-'
of men in the engrlneer's department did.
riot stop to ask where their money was
coming from or^ when. ]:t: t But ; this loy- .
altj' was not •> all ; sufficient. / Tho \u25a0 men
gave tholr services, but \u25a0 the day came
when, money had ' to ;be forthcoming
\u25a0 else all. thisi .work, .' which \was llttlo
short of heroic: self . > sacrifice, 11 would
have gone for; naught. 1 Transportation
of : some : sort . must :be - had :y - for the
. granite and iron monuments ' that' were ;
;to be the guides ; for, rebuilding/^Mr.
Holcomb asked for/a^-hbrse^and .wagon,
but the board of Jpubllofworks, insisted
that': there /was 'l absolutely .;'* no » money
for this emergency/, fit is 'riot; aimatter'
"ot 'J record \ what] Mr. \ Holcomb , said /upon •
this \ occaislon, out \u25a01 1 >is j known Uhat, he i
declared that '\u25a0 he would ; hire ; the , horse'
and. wason/ himself." M"' ; f . '*/'."
; The urgency, of the demand and the
convincing insistence of . Mr. , Holcomb
caused a stir, and within ' 24 hours .the \u25a0
proper means for, transferring, the mori- .
uments / was c forthcoming.:/ It.wa s _ a
stout . horse and wagon that was needed ;\u25a0
to take these [_ monuments j; to; the f ar-^
thermbst parts of , the 'city/ as : the gran- /
ite ' :l: l ones arV;*frony/ f our/fto f six /ff eet : :
square. Theyrhave\beeri; put [nine; feet.
; below .the surface [of j .tba' streetarid set .
in reinforcd 'concrete. '.To Mr.llolman'sT
credit these t; moriumenta ' are !/ now "" > set
in every part of /the. city >wi tn|toe^^
cei)tion"-\of 'the" district^ ;,' : bounded ~ by .;
ttifcafbtMeY^ "'toi*: x»latefl aj •»•*
*et!cally a« the '»a» at her «i«e, •'\u0084
; ;.i; Then •; the orowd ; began to *ath«v it :
wm» not a friendly crowd at aIL It I*
Mtonlshfc^ how people wUI dlsappror*
of .» what 'Viiiffit*' not \u25a0 ' u»ed i to. ?. .
wan 'I no / i>artteiilar ' niusd "/' why ? IDit •
Cecil should ? not Xpalnt sig|ie /. I* I** i
pleased her to do it and yet \u25a0 srrery
man - and * woman -_withJn v a i, radian} of ,f, f • \u25a0
mile seemed to think It waa hli or feet
business to say what titterlr bad ' fern
It , was. The only ; friendly oomment
made was by a representative ef the
effete "'' old /world. -Two , quietly "\ dressed
women stopped for a few minutes wUb
the crowd, and •one of them remarked" i j
"They don't do ': that : at home, you
knOW.".; ; :'.\_ '/.'\u25a0\u25a0 . - "
-' r "And where might" your horn* b«l"
"Why, we are from England, yon
know. ./They don't do anything 1 lllte
that In England, but she Is very bra^t. 1 *
The tone ; Implied that the speaker ac
cepted '. the novelty as perf eotly , n%%>
\u25a0 ural ; In America. That • being; se, she
had no criticism to offer. // 'j -/\
J Meanwhile *": the citizens of the land
of the free and the homo of the brave
were^giving "vent ; to their opinions. 'I
believe It was Shaw who said that the
reason 'Americans talk ao muoh about
thelr/freedonr Is that they 'havfli none. :-:
•: VTlucky?" j said one woman' • wrath*
fully/ "I think she Is a -bold '. thing/
The idea of a woman dolor anything
, like i that." /
'\u25a0;'; Miss Cecil painted placidly."
; "I do hate vto see a woman • forcing
herself into" the place of a • man," :\u25a0 said
another, 'rtvhy can't'^she" do " some
• womanly work ?" . ; , >
.Times when" I had repudiated the Idea
- that ' woman • are > always \u25a0 hard on one
another: came back .to me. with, a -Jolt.
"Perhaps the womanly . work Is not so
weli pald,"\i ; said \u25a0by "way of keeping:
the ball rolling;- The \u25a0 champion of
womanliness turned and Included me in
a \u25a0withering' glance and hastened^to-re
' move herself \u25a0 from 'the contaminating
Influence.' -.'.".' '"•;.. 7 /.•/';. \ v ' v -.'-. -/ -
" Truck i drivers stopped their teams
-and looked up to say familiarly, "Hello,
'Mary." Prominent citizens only slowed
up their automobiles a little "and rub
bered decorously. If she \u25a0 noticed It;
. shb never moved a muscle. - \u25a0'; 'A- ,' .'* .
..>,*'l think a woman unsexes herself by
doing such' work," said one bcldamo iv
: atone as If that settled it.
V >Mlss Cecil painted on, and -If she did
not snap her fingers at the exponents
Ofi. womanliness Mi; was because" she
did .not have - to.V* ! The chin" said it
all. Oncfi she threw me r a "wink that
took ;-ma -into ; the confidence of her
opinions of the crowd. If I did not In
tho- leaat approve, it was Impossible
not ' to admlro her pluck.
\u25a0 She stepped on the lace flounce of. her
gown 4nd proceeded U>/pln lt-up,\ while
Mission and Brannan, Ninth; and Four
teenth . streets, .and ; all the; imaginary :
/lines have ' been run^ ; ; Xotwlthstandhis
the; dependability of ; the monuments.
Mr./Holcomb : is 'not placing" all his
faith .'in /them. As "fast . as\ the
foundations for' permanent build- 1 ,
lngsjaro' laid, ho . is "tying in" the
location, . or in words familiar to the
ilay mind he Is running lines from these
jbulltiing-s, so the /measurements, .are
l botJl /ways, i The i monuments might ,\ bo
IOBt or disturbed,- but with fthe.,p*eVma^;
nentVbuUdingS; / as,-; carefully- recorded
as the grajiite blocks or iron, indicators,
no possible .complication could come in,
to the :.city>or. ; its •' people.'
\u25a0Running new '; lines ; from : the perma
nent; bulldinga would be child's play.
, > Outsldo. of replacing mounments and
running lines. Mr.^.llolcomb' has' had to
;the •. damage i dono to .property
* lines 'the; earthquake, '; a task, never
beforo . confronting -a' city , engineer's
office. Where the' fire swept the blocks
clean -thio \u25a0 workirof people ; and.
sidewalks and streets ; back where ;. they
belonged has been v comparatively easjy
For, instance,' in • orio of the accompany- ,
Ing; illustrations,-;- aTc'bpy of /an- official
< map/i one /of thejbiV? movements ( is"^ In?'
: dlcated. ; i In? this J section Kwhole '^blocks
moved | f ronitslx^ toleight I feet' southerly."
; There ndthihe'fto : do : but \u25a0 to l put \tho '
street >/ : lines & exactly "-i- back :'
ithey^belonged^v It "seems?' as'/ though
there: must '\u25a0•; be i a ; point '.tdmewhere'
where ." these *-: six "*\ -. or '\u25a0"'\u25a0'- eight f| f eet'
"count, ~but^ if /\u25a0 so% lt^ls /'way; off
fatlthe/edgo;bf^riowhere;' At;any, rate;
<thls v section vs is V, now /as > smart , as ,_; if
?nothlng;had'happened^^: / ; j ; //
: In • the ' Mission? there \ stahdslconfront-j
ingithe^clty'engineer^tlio .greatest !prob^
lemjoffalL^,There\isJ,butlonß.[sblutlon;
! however,", because 'fforlthe]mbst'part"' i thla ;
i section iw'as -"unhurt 5 by, l the • flre.^ Houses
> cannot IbeMtaken^upSbbdilyifrjke
iwalkßlanafputfwhereithey^belonffiac^
fc6rdmg^to]the|btHclalssuryeysjVi«Where
j absolutely;^ necessary"^ houses
.mbye^butC almost*, without
the lines of most ] of the Mission street*
the ijcrowd r. renewed " ana * commented .
upon every 'movement. Somehow, . the
lace flounce ; in itself ; seemed to excite
their disapproval. But ' Miss Cecil can
afford to tear 'lace flounces : or to souse
them in painit/> The , knowledge that she
could : make as much In a day \u25a0as many :
of Ji<»r detractors In a - month may have
helped to i sustain .-her through the? or
deal,,lf It wasiati, ordeal. \ • .
- Miss Cecil is an artist in advertisinjf.'
\u25a0\u0084"; V^: i,.. ? :- :\u25a0•.-.\u25a0;>.\u25a0\u25a0.:-\u25a0.,\u25a0. •.:\u25a0..,,,\u25a0.-;... .'j^.
/wlll;have;to;bererunand the board'of
:" supervisors have* to ' make F the" new "
survey^offlciaL;:? Before /the;; calamity^
"; there } was . ullshtest •deviation^
in* the Mission. Now 1 hardly t^oT. blocks
;; - \u25a0 : '\u25a0 ' - 1 ' - \u25a0\u25a0\u25a0. ---^ * ~ \u25a0 \u25a0 - •
Man AVho: Gained a Lot l
An accompanying illustration .shows
happened on Valencia; street^That
is Jnow^as ; straight as a; whip;
« thero/ is : nothing ' to : indicate - the twists "
or;, tho ? dips.'- . ,The? engineer's :- offico Is
now trying tblflnd 'the best solution for
the Howard \ street -.j blocks.; After., all ;
has ; been"; said and done ij for, this?district
there'wili;probably ; be;a' little; glvehcrei
and > take there.Tnouiing'' that vwill "make;
any material difference:^ But '^therV will
jbe 5 no; one -there', as' fortunate ;as v a 'man
'. who . many years ', ago s held ; property - in*
•.one = of;thei homestead: districts.*/ It Is a
fact % that T-- in>-' the'^flhal' "survey of *> the
ihomeßtead ; \distrlcts,'iT/hlchxwere;orlg-'
from: time, to ; time asthe'
country/, was" j opened • upTforj settlement,*'
'-; there ;? ls z always; more .' ; land ' thanHthe
[. maps '\u25a0:", call for.jVi The '.always ;
: goes 2 to ?aorae:- fortunate. ; Land v: holder;
..whose^property .;. ; happens^ to<,be ;
*extra| patches. -/The'manTlh :'ques-'
[tion. came into* the ;6fllcer of T the'.: city"
5 engineer,:^ havlng^?understood Vi that a
• slice was % to be ; taken from his property/
| Ihfa s blind V fury, ?he X asked ;to f see'f. the •
; theiwhlle7>3*Af ter.> looking *at f thefdla- :
i gram/> he l" i; discovered f that^? instead " of
r losing; any/of his ; holding.he had /gained l
ia" lot?< He i looked ;' around ; fur tl vely,'* and '
>'evldently^f earlng^that ii hej, would r lose
ihis^ newj possession ; If • the 'engineer) no-^ 1
.ticedjit, [sllppedj out of the "office Iwlth- :
:OUtraVword:;^;/:/.^ -v-.^i %,/;:.'\u25a0 .';/ : : \: : :'[
' &Then ; there ; may ' be ! sonio 'bother; with
£the'peopleVwhothink(that\the (marks r of:
'the^conflnesrofitheirjpropertyVousht to
;- be % pufj lnf the js^afe^ deposit %or^ some
.'equally desirable place. |'' Such > a's man "
£ came"; Into] the "en gl n eer's {office T on eTday I
| with' a'; bundle runderj his J armif ; HeYcom-^
plalned'that his neighbor wa3 building -
.several Inches "over, on; his property. 'Z Mr.
Holcomb t propounded '% the ; usual ''* ques-.;
tions; and then v asked -the. fellow: how
?Ihel knew! that | hla l neighbor; was ' tres- 1
j passing." 'V "I know, because- here \ are 'the'
\u25a0k sticks a that I mark " the " corners \u25a0of ,•; my •
i property.''^; He;i caref ullys unrolled jthe^
bundled and>. showed {. the ; : stakes ; which
She; travels .from ; one place to another"
and \u25a0 Is . never long in the employ of
one f firm. She is employed for the.
advertising value, there Is in the un-;
usual spectacle of a woman painting
signs, and she does riot stay long
enough: for ; the •, novelty v to wear out.
She^ sometimes . makes as' much as JSO
a day!; •
The value of women as. an advertls- ,
ing asset • has been recognized before. .
the surveyor^ had driven so ; carefully.
."If, you had. only brought with you the
holes in which these/ stakes .belonged
we imisht'do something. for you.** r The
man". went away, trying; to understand
what Mr. ;• Holcomb had ; said. Tho sur
vey, of ' his place ' one fine day showed
that" the neighbor was quite within
his rights. — -
- -"'-.\u25a0 :•''\u25a0 • \u25a0 . • ••. - •
-The resurvey of this city recalls some
rather^ interesting "facts. " When: the
board of engineers confronted tha prob
lem of ' straightening ;; out ; thej tangled
lines £ of ,' San ;Francisco and * mapping
the | results, " there ' had .to be • consider
able reconciliation of ; recognized meas
urements with ,the old " Spanish 'Var«u"
After 'all ; the . wise men ' had their, heeds
together ,\ a special \u25a0 standard of . meas
urement; was | evolved f and the necessary .
instruments* made by^ John Roach. ;• To
this day that pole is used ' here and \u25a0 no
where .else. /It ; Is 13 feet and 9 Inches
long, making an even division of the
fifty ,vara, which is 137.5. To make thl3
standard iof measurement 'legal. It had
to ' be ; : filed *_. with ' the * authorities 'at
Washington," D. . C." And V now . with tha
reaurvey <and* the '. destruction "/of/" the
means Jof • verification ; of this I measure
ment."^: this: standard^ fcad' again to be
I made a : record -at -.Washlngton;r A re
ceipt to- that; effect 'has' been 'received
from the bureau of standards In the de
partment of commerce and labor. /Thero
: the , pole \u25a0 has j been ;, tested 2 under stated
temperaturo and /> pressure fand pull and
duly/approved.' / :-."\u25a0'
VI So much for national approval; vVhen
.this T measuring tpole-jis*; in 'use it:" is
tested j once \u25a0 or 3 twice a' day. or rof ten«r
if ; there/ Is" any : ' reason" to think that the
temperature ' is •; outwitting - the r survey
ors.VAt .present the standard for this test
iSjto-be on 1 tho>McAlllster street walk,
convenient^ to ;the/ present 'temporary
abode of .the city, engineer's office." Any
day,' at \this ' place, \ field*- men ! may be
seen measuring and "'measuring and're
measurlng this pole.' "According, to tho
> findings.^ allowance has : to be , mado ; In
i theT calculations: stand
ards : at>WashihgtonTcan T find f the : va l v*
of,thi3 pole.^can determine exactly "what ;
ritlwlllf. do •; under-, glvenl conditions. iDUt
always 'has i the- last* aay."
; *\Thls r pole;Is made 'of .picked! pine. ' : ;' 'An
archiandlthreo ;brace3jprevent sagging:
'At^f either Cend; 5 just/ beyond the -arch • a
spirit-level -Is inserted. "At : " the 1 very
r ends there, are .steel toes and: cut: In
: them/ are ," grooves "through ! t which the
cordTof Jthe^plumbV bob passes, i .This
groove is half the: width* of ?the cord.
:>\u25a0 ; In; addition *to> this 'special :pole": pole" for
da San Francisco Sunday CaSL
Tn looking for Miss Cecil, of whose
work the rumor Sad spread. I inter
viewed a masculine follower of the
craft of sign painting. "W» were
painting slgna for a hatter her* in
town." he said, "and he wanted us to
put on women's skirts whea we
worked. T7e said we would If he would
pay us extra, but he wouldn't. Ho
wanted us to do it for the same pay.
and we couldn't see it .that way.**
those first important surveys, a lars»
transit was made, one that has to be
taken from place to place in a wagon.
While the 'present day city surveyors
are quite willing to admit ths superior
qualities of the large transit, they work
along : with ' the ordinary ore of com
merce, the possession of which after
the calamity was contemplated with
gratitude that was almost devotional.
And despite ashes and ruins and much
hunting for . monuments, the resurvey
of San : Francisco has been conducted
with a - rapidity "that ' makes a record.
To gain these laurels with surveying;
does not mean hurrying, because that
is not compatible with the exact results
" required, but it means work without
ceasing.' There has been no playing:
by 'the v/ay.' Calamity conditions and
demands have given men grim determi
nation that has made almost anything
possible, and in no department of tho
municipality has this fact been so em
phasized as in the office of tho city en
gineer." There, men of good faith have,
without ostentation, -without commen
dation and almost without notice, been
making the most vital of- San Fran
cisco's records. Every coming year .will
attest this fact.
No one will say that there will not
be complications, and plenty of them.
as the result of the calamity and the
. rapid rebuilding of San Francisco, but
its citizens may take comfort in the
fact that there, will be a solution for
the worst overlapping and twisting of
'lines. The fundamental survey, now
'almost! complete," will always give the
necessary; official start. Even In - tho
Mission, at the present time, where the
.work . Is , Incomplete, it is possible to
getva correct; survey, of any lot. com
ing.', of course, through a square of
blocks.. There are "points of begin
ning all securely, "tied 1" "
•/..-The ""original' block \u25a0\u25a0• book will be a
source of comfort for those «rho lament
that -San Francisco's streets will be
: crooked. The T fact of the matter is
that many ''of -"them have always been
"so "'and '- without"' "charge ngainst a
calamity. In the old parts of the city
. in : the 50, and " 100 vara districts many
of the 'streets have varied four "or five
feet '.from '', block" to block, and no one
s ever gave the matter a* second thought.
.So- the block book of the future will not
, differ 'materially from- that of the past.
rAIl 1 the 'people will -have to think about
ils /that ;the twisted streets will, be "put
back where they belong; the crooked
• oner straightened wherever possible
and . that*" the '.rights -of the individual
property owners wiir be perfectly safe