Committee of Fifty (1906)

Last updated
Franklin Hall, the committee's final venue FranklinHall.jpg
Franklin Hall, the committee's final venue

This Committee of Fifty, sometimes referred to as Committee of Safety, Citizens' Committee of Fifty or Relief and Restoration Committee of Law and Order, was called into existence by Mayor Eugene Schmitz during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The Mayor invited civic leaders, entrepreneurs, newspaper men and politicians—but none of the members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors—to participate in this committee in whose hands the civil administration of San Francisco would rest.

Contents

Schmitz thought it necessary to form this body to manage the crisis during the disaster, although there was no legal basis for it. It first assembled in the basement of the ruined Hall of Justice on the afternoon of the earthquake, Wednesday, April 18, at 3 p.m. By 5 p.m. the location became dangerous and the Committee crossed Portsmouth Square to meet at the Plaza Hotel, which in turn had to be abandoned two hours later. At 8 p.m. the Committee assembled at the Fairmont Hotel's ballroom, sitting along the edge of the stage and on packing cases. At this point, the 19 sub-committees were set up. Shortly after 11 p.m. they dispersed. [1] :121 [2] :153

Overnight the Fairmont Hotel burned down. On Thursday, April 19, at 6 a.m., the Committee met at the North End police station. At 11 a.m. they had to abandon the police station because of the scorching heat, and reconvened at 2 p.m. at Franklin Hall, on Fillmore Street, where they stayed for the remainder of the crisis, which became known as Temporary City Hall. At 4.30 p.m. Abe Ruef appeared there. He had not been called to be a member, but invited himself, and Mayor Schmitz accepted his offer, and he became chairman of an additional sub-committee, trying unsuccessfully to relocate the Chinese. Actually, there were more than a hundred members, but they never met all together, since during the chaos members came and went as they could or would.

Members

On April 19, 1906, The New York Times published the first list of the members of the committee with 49 names - it did not include that of the Mayor - which originated the name Committee of Fifty. Later, more and more people went to the meetings and here are the names of people who were mentioned by different sources as members: [1] :121

Sub-Committees

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Pardee</span> American doctor of medicine and politician (1857–1941)

George Cooper Pardee was an American doctor of medicine and Republican politician. As the 21st Governor of California, holding office from January 7, 1903, to January 9, 1907, Pardee was the second native-born Californian to assume the governorship, after Romualdo Pacheco, and the first governor born in California after statehood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James D. Phelan</span> Former United States Senator and 25th Mayor of San Francisco

James Duval Phelan was an American politician, civic leader, and banker. He served as nonpartisan Mayor of San Francisco from 1897 to 1902. As mayor he advocated municipally run utilities and tried to protect his constituents from the monopolistic practices of the trusts. He represented California in the United States Senate from 1915 to 1921 as a Democrat. Phelan was a progressive supporter of the policies of Woodrow Wilson and was a leader in the movement to restrict Japanese and Chinese immigration to the United States.

<i>The San Francisco Call</i> American newspaper

The San Francisco Call ( Post ) was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called The San Francisco Call & Post, the San Francisco Call-Bulletin, San Francisco News-Call Bulletin, and the News-Call Bulletin before the name was finally retired after the business was purchased by the San Francisco Examiner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayor of San Francisco</span> Chief executive of San Francisco, California, US

The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch. The mayor serves a four-year term and is limited to two successive terms. Because of San Francisco's status as a consolidated city-county, the mayor also serves as the head of government of the county; both entities have been governed together by a combined set of governing bodies since 1856.

The history of the city of San Francisco, California, and its development as a center of maritime trade, were shaped by its location at the entrance to a large natural harbor. San Francisco is the name of both the city and the county; the two share the same boundaries. Only lightly settled by European-Americans at first, after becoming the base for the gold rush of 1849 the city quickly became the largest and most important population, commercial, naval, and financial center in the American West. San Francisco was devastated by a great earthquake and fire in 1906 but was quickly rebuilt. The San Francisco Federal Reserve Branch opened in 1914, and the city continued to develop as a major business city throughout the first half of the 20th century. Starting in the later half of the 1960s, San Francisco became the city most famous for the hippie movement. In recent decades, San Francisco has become an important center of finance and technology. The high demand for housing, driven by its proximity to Silicon Valley, and the limited availability has led to the city being one of America's most expensive places to live. San Francisco is currently ranked 16th on the Global Financial Centres Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tirey L. Ford</span> American politician and lawyer

Tirey Lafayette Ford was an American lawyer and Republican politician who served as a California State Senator and the 18th Attorney-General of California. He acted as General Counsel for the United Railroads in San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugene Schmitz</span> 26th Mayor of San Francisco from 1902 to 1907

Eugene Edward Schmitz, often referenced as "Handsome Gene" Schmitz, was an American musician, musical director, and politician. He was the 26th Mayor of San Francisco, who was in office during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Workingmen's Party of California</span> American labor organization (1877–1880s)

The Workingmen's Party of California (WPC) was an American labor organization, founded in 1877 and led by Denis Kearney, J. G. Day, and H. L. Knight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Boxton</span> 27th Mayor of San Francisco during 1907

Charles Boxton served as the 27th mayor of San Francisco for seven days, from July 9 to July 16, 1907.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abe Ruef</span> American lawyer and politician (1864–1936)

Abraham Ruef was an American lawyer and politician. He gained notoriety as the corrupt political boss behind the administration of Mayor Eugene Schmitz of San Francisco during the period before and after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis J. Heney</span> American lawyer, judge and politician (1859–1937)

Francis Joseph Heney was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. Heney is known for killing an opposing plaintiff in self-defense and for being shot in the head by a prospective juror during the San Francisco graft trials. In 1891, while an attorney in Tucson, Arizona Territory, he defended the abused wife of John C. Handy. Handy attacked Heney, who shot and killed Handy. Heney later served as Attorney General of the Arizona Territory between 1893 and 1895. He was the chief prosecutor of the Oregon Land Fraud scandal from 1904 to 1910 and served as US District Attorney for the District of Oregon, from January 9 to December 3, 1905. He prosecuted corrupt San Francisco politicians, from 1906 to 1908.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors</span>

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body of San Francisco, California, United States. The body consists of eleven members elected from single-member districts through ranked choice voting.

The Union Labor Party was a San Francisco, California working class political party of the first decade of the 20th century. The organization, which endorsed the doctrine of nativism, rose to prominence in both the labor movement and urban politics in the years after 1901, electing its nominee as Mayor of San Francisco in 1901, 1903, 1905, and 1909.

William Matthew Malone was an American lawyer and political boss who chaired the California Democratic Party during and after World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James W. Reid (architect)</span> American architect

James William Reid (1851–1943) was a Canadian-born American architect of the noted San Francisco firm of Reid & Reid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry J. Crocker</span> American businessman (1861–1912)

Henry J. Crocker was a prominent San Franciscan businessman, one of the Committee of Fifty formed after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; he was also a noted philatelist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco graft trials</span> Series of trials in early 1900s San Francisco

The San Francisco graft trials were a series of attempts from 1905 to 1908 to prosecute public officials in the city of San Francisco, California, for graft and other political corruption. Among those implicated were Mayor Eugene Schmitz, political boss Abe Ruef, and various members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, all of whom had taken bribes from business owners. Ruef was at the center of the corruption; while acting as Schmitz's attorney, he approved all city contracts and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in payment from business owners, keeping a portion for himself and distributing the remainder to the Mayor and Supervisors.

The Alabama Academy of Honor recognizes one hundred living Alabamians for outstanding accomplishments and services to Alabama and the United States. By act of the Alabama Legislature, only one hundred living people may be members at any time. Up to ten additional members per year are elected by current members when honorees pass away, by majority vote in order of highest vote total. Any Alabama citizen or Academy member may nominate people for election. Living present and past governors of Alabama are automatically members of the Academy and do not count against the 100-person maximum. At any time, no more than twenty-five percent of the Academy's members may be politicians.

Fairfax Henry Wheelan was an American businessman, philanthropist, and political reformer. As the chief complaining witness of voter fraud in 1904, he played a primary role in the eventual downfall of San Francisco Mayor Eugene Schmitz and his attorney and political boss Abe Ruef.

References

  1. 1 2 Bean, Walton (1974). Boss Ruef's San Francisco: the Story of the Union Labor Party, Big Business, and the Graft Prosecution. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN   9780520000940.
  2. Thomas, Gordon; Witts, Max Morgan (1971), The San Francisco Earthquake, New York, London: Stein and Day, Souvenir Press, Dell, ISBN   978-0-8128-1360-9

Sources